Happy Accidents
by Bethofbells
Summary: Oh, I suck at summaries. This was from a prompt I received from an anon on my personal tumblr. It's not a story I ever would have written otherwise, and I spent a lot of time trying to think of a way to do it without it seeming silly or ridiculous. It's definitely a trope I've avoided in the past. I expect it to be four of five long-ish chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok, so this is a accidental pregnancy trope. If you don't like those, then I suppose you probably won't read this. It's something I've avoided writing in the past, but I received a prompt for it on my tumblr, and after spending a little while thinking of a way to do it that didn't seem silly or unrealistic, I think I finally landed on one. The reason I hadn't done it in the past is because, I mean, I didn't like the idea of Mindy being careless like that. However, there is a first time for everything. I hope you like it, and if you don't, please be gentle.**

Mindy stifled a yawn and crossed her arms in front of her in an attempt to ward off the cold breeze. "You really didn't have to walk me home. I only had a couple shots of tequila." She reached up to brush away the hair that had blown in her face. "Ok, like six… and some wine… and.. well yeah."

Danny, walking along beside her, gave her a sidelong glance. She was clearly feeling very buoyant from the alcohol, but she was nowhere near wasted. "We live in the same area. It's not a big deal." His hands were tucked into his pockets, his leather jacket zipped all the way up.

Tonight had been pleasant, if not amazing. The office had gone out for drinks in an attempt to bond or something. She'd spent the majority of the night listening to Morgan argue with the bar tender about the best way to make a martini, and the other half of the night guarding Betsy from the pigs that seemed to be magnetically drawn to her when she had a drink in her hand. And Mindy herself hadn't been hit on once.

Granted, it was a pub, and not a club teaming with single guys looking to hook up, but she still expected at least one person to offer to buy her a drink. And it definitely didn't help that Tamra was basically beating guys off with a stick. She couldn't count the number of times she'd heard her say, "Move along, I got me a boyfriend, and he just bought me a New Car, so I'm not looking for a second sugar daddy."

So she was feeling a little miffed and more than a little old. She trudged along in the brisk air, just wishing she was home already, tucked into her fuzzy pajamas, scrolling through Netflix looking for a cheesy movie to watch.

She was brought out of her slightly melancholic thoughts by the buzzing of her phone in the pocket of her jacket. It was Betsy. The last time she had seen her she was trashed after drinking one and a half beers and telling everyone in hearing distance that she loved them. _Dr. L. I just wanted you to know, I'm so glad I met you, and you are my best friend. See you, Monday. _She chuckled to herself. Poor Betsy knew so few people in the city.

Mindy glanced up, noting they were almost to her place, before looking down at her phone again. Danny still walked along beside her silently. She swiped over to her Facebook app, idly scrolling through updates and notifications.

She stopped abruptly, mouth agape, staring at the screen of her phone. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Danny had taken half a dozen strides before he realized she was no longer beside him. He stopped and called back to her. "Mindy, come on, it's getting late."

She jammed her phone back in her pocket, crossing her arms even tighter than before and stomped back up to him, not pausing when she reached him, instead marching on past in determined manner.

She wanted to make it into her building before giving into the urge to cry. She rounded the corner, and her stoop came into her line of vision. She breathed a temporary sigh of relief at the sight, quickly calling out over her shoulder at Danny's advancing figure. "Thanks, Danny. Goodnight."

She ran up the steps to the door, her cold fingers fumbling with her keys, tears welling in her eyes making it even more difficult to find the right one. She heard heavy steps fly up the stairs behind her before a hand latched onto her elbow, turning her around.

She stared up at Danny's face, his features lined with irritation, and something broke in her. She blinked and let the tears fall, hiccupping sobs catching in her chest. "G-go a-aw-way, p-please."

The irritation quickly faded from his face. He was breathing a little harder than normal, having ran a bit there at the last to catch up with her. He was completely at a loss. "Min, what is going on?"

She turned back to her door, finally finding the right key and jamming it in the lock. She twisted the key in the lock, keeping her attention on her hands. "N-nothing. It's stupid. I'll see you tomorrow."

She swung the door open, attempting to slip away from Danny, but he followed close behind. She ignored the fact that he was still with her and marched over to the elevator, punching the button.

Without looking at him she said, "Danny, please just let be me pathetic by myself." The door whooshed open and she got in, but he still followed her. She gave him a second to get off, but when he didn't she just hit her floor number.

"I'll leave, as soon as you tell me what's going on. Is someone dying or something?"

Her face crumpled up. "Yeah… Me." She let out a little wail.

Alarmed, Danny grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. "Mindy, what the hell are you talking about? Are you sick?"

She shook her head in denial, reigning in the sobs a little. "I'm going to die one day, all alone, and the cats I've collected to keep me company are going to eat my corpse before anyone finds me." On the last word she started crying again, this time leaning into him, doing her best to soak the front of his shirt.

Realizing she was just being dramatic, he felt the icy hand that had clenched around his heart release. His fingers relaxed on her shoulders as he tentatively encircled her in a hug, patting her on the back. "Min, you can, uh, tell me about it, if you want."

The elevator dinged and the doors came open. She pulled away from him and turned to the hall. "It's really stupid. I'm just overreacting." She took a deep breath, brushing at the tears still wetting her cheeks. "Josh is having a baby, or rather, his wife is."

Danny followed her as she made her way to her apartment, unsure of what to do with himself. Sensing she wasn't done, he remained quiet.

"And, I mean, it really is stupid. I don't want Josh. I don't want to have kids with someone like that. Hell, with a wife like his, it may not even be his child, but there's this little green monster inside of me that seethes with jealousy when I see those stupid Facebook notifications." She became more and more irritated as she spoke. "It's like, every time I look at this stupid thing, I get smacked in the face with how alone I am."

She hefted it in her hand, and without hesitation threw it across the room. It bounced on the hardwood floor with a thud. "How can someone so awful get everything they've ever wanted?" The volume of her voice increased. "Danny, am I a bad person?" The tears began to flow again.

Danny felt uncomfortable, completely unsure what to do in this situation. He'd only seen her brazenly bold confidence slip once before, after that awful day at the women's prison. That time he'd tried to make her laugh. But this was so much worse, and he didn't think that would work. He took a step toward her, awkwardly drawing her into a hug. He felt her shaking with sobs against him. "Is this really about Josh?"

She shook her head against him. Mumbling, "No" into his shirt.

Her hiccupping sobs began to slow as she relaxed into his loose embrace. She sniffled, the scent of cologne and something else filling her nostrils. Something shifted inside of her. This always seemed to happen at the most inconvenient times. While not drunk, alcohol brought everything she was feeling to the surface.

She'd ran the gamut tonight, going from pleasantly content to swimming in a bottomless pit of despair in the course of twenty minutes, and now she was huddled in Danny's arms, a feeling of lust creeping up on her. For Danny? She took another deep breath and slipped her arms around his waist, sighing contentedly.

He felt her relax in his arms, hardly believing that calming her down could have been so easy. Just as he was about to let her go. He felt her arms tighten around him and her lips press against neck. He immediately tensed, pushing her away at arm's length. "Mindy, what are you doing?"

His movement did little to dampen her amorous advances. She reached forward, clutching at his shirt to pull him back to her, this time latching onto his lips. He gave in for a second, reaching up to cup her face with his hands, still feeling the dampness leftover from her bout of tears. After a few seconds, he broke away panting. "Mindy, this isn't—"

She cut him off, looking up at him with a pleading expression in her eyes. "Please, just let me have this. Just tonight. I don't want to be alone."

Something inside of Danny snapped. He'd always been attracted to her physically, early on he'd tried to tamp it down, but it was still there. Lately he'd begun to care about her wellbeing in a way that was wholly new to him. They were both single at the moment. No one would get hurt if they gave into this urge, just this one time. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about it before. He'd just never been able to imagine any series of events that would lead to it.

He swallowed hard, nodding in acquiescence. Pulling her to him roughly, kissing her roughly until her lips were swollen, reaching around to grasp her ass and press himself closer to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, dragging herself up against him.

He pulled away from her long enough to grunt. "Bedroom." She nodded as he dragged her across the apartment. She smiled to herself. So this was happening.

Danny woke slowly. The light of late morning landing harshly on his closed eyes. For a moment he was disoriented, and couldn't figure out why there were so any pillows behind his head. He slowly opened his eyes, taking in the interior of Mindy's bedroom. Everything rushed back to him, and he felt warmth pool in the pit of his stomach, a lazy half grin spreading across his face.

She wasn't in the bed with him though. That was odd. He'd always pictured her as the type to laze Saturday morning away tucked in bed, especially if she had someone else there with her. He heard noises coming from her giant closet.

She stepped back out into the room, pulling on a cardigan over her brightly patterned blouse. She smiled brightly at him. "Oh, good. You're awake." She walked over to him, sitting on the edge of the bed. "It's almost nine. I have to head over to Gwen's for a thing." She reached over to her night stand, grabbing her clutch. "Can you lock the door when you leave?"

Danny's shoulders slumped slightly. He wasn't disappointed exactly, but he'd sort of expected the morning to go a little differently. He quickly brushed away the troublesome feeling. "Uh, yeah, no problem."

She smiled at him again before hopping up and heading toward the door. She glanced back at him, eyes sparkling. "Oh, and Danny, thanks, really. I needed that. Sometimes you just have to let things go and have a little fun." She bit her bottom lip. "I hope this doesn't change anything between us. I know you probably want to get things back to the way you were, and so do I. So, uh, you know. Still friends?"

So it was a one-time thing then. Ok. That was fine, even though he'd always sort of though if he ever made a move in that direction it would result in something more. He pulled back from his thoughts a little and returned his attention to her. She was gazing at him hopefully, waiting for an answer. "Of course. Friends. See you at work Monday." He grinned at her, the expression not quite reaching his eyes.

She smiled at him again as she slipped out the door, yelling out across the apartment. "Don't forget to lock up!"

Danny sat up in her bed, feeling a little bit muddled. He'd just been hit by hurricane Mindy and he wasn't exactly sure what the damages were. He slipped out of her bed and got dressed. He'd just half to chalk this up to impulsiveness. If she wasn't going to let it make their friendship awkward, then neither was he. He only had to tell himself that five or six times before he really believed it.

* * *

By the time Wednesday rolled around Mindy was exhausted. She opened her locker, and grunted at the disheveled reflection staring back at her from the tiny mirror stuck to the door. She put her hand over it. "That's enough of that." She'd just had a horrible night.

She'd had an emergency c-section late in the evening, and before she could even change back into her street clothes, she got another page for a different patient. Twins that had decided to come early, she'd spent a good deal of time monitoring the progression of the labor and checking the mother's vitals.

Now it was 4 a.m. and she didn't even feel like taking her scrubs off. She just needed to get the jacket she kept in her locker so she could walk home and not freeze to death.

She draped it over her shoulders, threading her arms through the sleeves and slamming the locker shut. As she exited the hospital she tucked her hands into her pockets to keep the warm. She paused when she felt a hard plastic object it the left one. She stopped in her tracks, a horrifying realization settling over her.

She grasped the object and pulled it out of her pocket. It was a round little flesh toned disc. She hit the little button on the side and it popped open, displaying a circle of different colored pills. It was her birth control, and it had been in the pocket of this jacket since she'd left it in her locker last week. Shit.

Her mind was spinning, trying to calculate the number of days she'd forgotten to take it. It was way too many to make up for by taking an extra dose. She'd been off of it for about seven days, the middle of which had been Friday night. With Danny.

She finally unfroze and started to head back to her apartment. She was talking to herself. "Relax. It's too early to tell anything. You're no spring chicken, no fertile Myrtle. It's probably nothing to worry about." She had to focus on taking even breaths so she wouldn't hyperventilate.

How could she have forgotten? She mentally berated herself. For god's sake, she was a gynecologist. Of all the areas of her life that could be a disaster, this shouldn't be one of them. She felt the overwhelming urge to cry, but didn't want people in the street to stare, so she sucked it up.

Maybe she was being too hard on herself. She had recently switched from the shot to the pill, and her schedule was so hectic that it had really been a pain to remember taking it every day. She never knew where she was going to be at any given time. She got called to the hospital at all hours, and she was always running errands around the city. She'd taken to carrying it around with her so she wouldn't forget. That's how it had ended up in the pocket of the jacket hanging in her locker at the hospital.

And it isn't like she'd had a real need for it. It had been an embarrassingly long time since she'd been with anyone. Until Friday night. Until Danny. Oh hell. Her panic began to creep back up again. It was another couple weeks until she could know for sure. Until then, she'd have to find some way to keep this anxiety at bay. She practically ran the last hundred yards to her building.

When she was finally back safely in her apartment, she ran a hot bath, and sat in it in a dazed state until the water was too cold for her to handle. Should she tell Danny? She was sure it was a bad idea, at least until she knew for sure.

Two weeks later, she sat there, alone in her bathroom, staring at the stick in front of her. Was that a line? Maybe. She knew she'd taken the test too early, but she hadn't been able to wait any longer. She knew all the pitfalls of taking the test too early. The HCG levels measured in the test would be too low at this time to cause a reaction. She squinted at it again. There was a faint line. She'd dealt with women who had taken the tests early and mistaken an evaporation line for a positive. They were always so disappointed when she ran the blood test and examined them. She hated causing that disappointment for other women.

Right now, she knew she should be hoping for a negative, but there was a part of her that felt giddy at the prospect of having a child. It was something that had seemed an impossibility not too long ago, and now it was there in front of her, so close she could almost touch it. But with Danny? Should she want that? She had barely registered the thought before a feeling of giddy warmth enveloped her.

She felt something for him. That was for sure, but she didn't quite know what it was. She sighed and dropped the stick in the trash beside the six other identical ones she'd already taken. She'd give it one more week, and then she'd schedule an appointment with someone at another practice to check for sure.

* * *

She'd arrived at the clinic wearing her biggest Jackie-O glasses and a black scarf wrapped around her head. One disadvantage to being an OBGYN in New York was you pretty much ran in the same circles as all the other OBGYN's. She was terrified of seeing some random person she knew. She even gave her go-to alias when she'd made the appointment, hoping no one she knew would recognize her name on the books.

She was now sitting uncomfortably clad in an open backed gown, waiting for Dr. Miranda O'Reily to come into the exam room. Just as she was wondering where the woman had disappeared to, when the door opened again. Mindy wet her lips in nervousness as she stared at the file in the other woman's hands. "So?"

"Well, Ms… Silverado?..." She looked at Mindy dubiously. "Looks like you're pregnant. About–"

"Three weeks, I know." Mindy was so conflicted. She was terrified at the prospect of telling Danny about all of this, but she couldn't find it in herself to be upset. She crossed her arms over her abdomen, feeling a bloom of unexpected happiness in her chest. Oh this was going to be the biggest mess ever, but at this very moment, she wouldn't change a thing.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: And we have chapter two. Don't know what to say about this one really. You know what the fic's about by now, so it's just continuing. I do have to say, this is probably the first time I've ever plotted out a whole fic before writing it. Usually I just write each chapter as it comes to me, but I felt this one needed a little more planning. As always I love to hear what you all have to say, and believe it or not, I do take suggestions under advisement. Love you all.**

CH2

Danny sat his coffee side him on the hard plastic seat, unfolding his fresh newspaper while waiting for the subway car to fill up. He liked New York City in the early morning, it was busy with commuters trying to get where they were going, but still kind of subdued. The sleep still clung to most people, making them comparatively unobtrusive.

A couple sat across from him, sharing a single pair of ear buds. The woman leaned against the man, resting her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. The man glanced over at her, dropping a quick peck on her crown before returning his attention to the book in his lap.

He wondered where Mindy was this morning. He blinked. Where had that thought come from? Her face suddenly filled his mind, and he realized it was something that had been happening for weeks. After their night of impulsiveness Danny had been surprised at how easily they'd returned to their previous relationship, or at least how easily she'd returned to it. It hadn't been a cake walk for himself.

Sometimes she would breeze into the office, chattering loudly about something or other, and he would be assailed with the scent of her perfume as it wafted across the space between them. His synapses would fire, the smell triggering images flashing before his eyes. Sleeping with her had flipped a switch in Danny's head. It alarmed him how turned on he got around her these days, and yet he was still able to talk to her about things. It wasn't as though he could stop being her friend, or that he even wanted to, but the number of times he had to remove himself from her presence because he felt strange was steadily increasing.

Sometimes he thought it wasn't one sided. She'd been avoiding him the past few weeks, he was sure of it. It wasn't overt, but he'd definitely noticed they'd been spending less time together, and sometimes she behave awkwardly around him. Yesterday he'd caught her watching some cheesy rom/com in the doctor's lounge. She'd been sitting there, gazing up at the screen, tears streaming down her face.

She'd jumped out of her skin when he said, "God, what are you watching, one of that Sparks guy's movies? Why do you watch those? You always cry." She'd grabbed the remote and flicked off the tv, zipping out the door, yelling something about having somewhere to go. He'd stood there for a good ten minutes, feeling an unexpected emptiness.

He shook his head at the memory. That strange hollowness was not something he had a lot of experience with. Even in the worst time with Christina it hadn't felt like that. Anger had been the primary emotion afflicting him at that time, but he could honestly say he'd never really missed her presence. He'd checked out a long time before she'd cheated on him.

He tried to return his attention to the paper, but his ears perked up when he heard a familiar high pitched voice call from just outside the car. "Excuse me! Excuse me! Please hold the door!"

He found himself smiling. Mindy. She so often missed the early train, he was surprised to see her this morning. For the past couple of weeks she had been absent on his morning commute. Some other uncharacteristically chivalrous commuter held the door for her, and she slipped on with a bright grin, mouthing thank you as she squeezed past.

He watched her for a moment, relishing the opportunity to look at her without being observed. She had a far off expression on her face, not exactly unpleasant, but not the normal daydreaming stare she so often wore. There were dark circles under her eyes, as though she'd missed sleep.

Danny felt himself frowning at the possibilities for the lack of sleep. He turned his attention back to his paper, turning to the sports page. Nothing interesting there, not today anyway. He sighed, glancing back in the direction he'd last seen her. She was wedged between a behemoth of a man and a shady looking teenager. He sighed. "Mindy."

Her head snapped around in the direction his voice came from, searching, a strange look flashing across her face, before it settled into a small smile. He tilted his head toward the seat beside him in silent invitation, not putting the paper down.

She nodded and made her way over. Standing in front of him she nodded toward the coffee. "Yours?" He grunted an affirmation and reached down to pick it up. She sat beside him, her thigh brushing against his leg. "That's so rude, Danny. Look at all these people standing up, and you're hoarding a seat so you have a place to set your coffee."

Danny took a drink of his coffee, studying her face yet again, this time a little more discreetly. There really was something off about her this morning. "How do you know I wasn't saving it for you? You should be grateful. Besides, this is New York. People aren't exactly shy about getting a seat on the subway." The more he looked at her, the more convinced he was that she'd had a sleepless night. He held the coffee out to her. "I think you need this more than me."

Mindy bit the inside of her cheek. She really wanted it, god she wanted it, but she'd cut caffeine out of her diet the moment she thought she was pregnant. He held the cup in front of her face. The rich aroma wafted up to her nose, almost causing her resolve to slip. She stilled herself. "Uh, no thanks, I'm off caffeine for the time being."

Danny withdrew the cup, taking another drink himself. That was odd. Most of the time Mindy commandeered his coffee when they met on the subway in the morning. She was always running late, and never seemed to find the time to get her own. He'd contemplated just buying two every morning, but there were so many times when she completely missed the train. It would have been a waste.

He raised his eyebrows. "No caffeine? That explains it."

She frowned, confused. "Explains what?"

"You look like hell. How long's it been?"

She sighed. "Thanks Danny, you're a real charmer. It's been three weeks." She suddenly felt nervous. Was this the appropriate time to tell him? She felt sure it wasn't. Not on the subway on the way to work. Not on a Monday. She swallowed. Maybe on Friday, right before they went home. That would be preferable. Then he'd have an entire weekend to process the news.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her suddenly upset stomach. She felt a bump on her shoulder. Danny had nudged her with his own. "What's with you this morning? You're acting weird."

She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Oh god, this was so difficult. Even thinking about telling him later gave her horrible anxiety. She snapped out of it. "New diet. No caffeine, cutting back on sugar, no alcohol, no—"

Danny cut her off. "Good luck with that." This was all very strange to him, but it wasn't as though Mindy hadn't gone on extreme diets before. They usually entailed eating a lot of some really strange thing he'd never heard of, then a week later he would find her in the break room halfway through a box of donuts, railing against the evils of fad diets. What she was describing was more in the realm of general health consciousness.

She shrugged, not letting his incredulity affect her. "I'm going to be making some changes in my life, Danny. You'll see."

* * *

Mindy had almost made it through the whole week. By Thursday she was sort of a nervous wreck every time Danny entered a room, so she spent a lot of time in her office. Early that morning she had been beset with the one symptom of pregnancy she had hoped she could avoid. The nausea was terrible. She lost her breakfast before she'd even made it to work, and had to settle for nibbling on some old saltines that had been left in the break room.

Now she was sitting at her desk, sipping on sparkling water. Her morning sickness had stretched out across the day, resulting in several quick trips to the lady's room. She'd tried to be discreet about it, not wanting anyone to comment on her state. Now she was sitting in her office, sipping on a bottle of sparkling water, hoping it would calm her stomach.

She set the bottle down, resting her elbows on the desk in front of her, dropping her head down into her hands. She kept telling herself that it would be gone soon, well, relatively soon. Morning sickness often stopped after the first trimester. She groaned.

"What's the matter with you?"

Her head popped up at the sound of Danny's voice. He was standing in her doorway with a medium size paper bag in his hands. She could make out the logo of her favorite Japanese restaurant on it. "Nothing, just tired. What do you have there?"

He held up the bag, a smile spreading across his face. "It's Thursday, remember? It's my turn to buy lunch."

The thought of eating sent another wave of nausea through Mindy. She pursed her lips and swallowed. Thankfully it passed without incident. The oddest thing about her morning/all-day sickness, was that even when she felt like barfing, she didn't stop being hungry. It was a vicious vicious cycle.

He made his way over to the chair in front of her desk, sitting down comfortably, arranging the contents of the bag on her desk. "I got us Sushi. I know how much you like that place down the street." He seemed so pleased with himself, and Mindy felt bad.

"Uh, Danny, sushi? I'm afraid I can't have that, um, you know, because of that diet I was telling you about."

He frowned. "Come on, this stuff is healthy. It's rice and seaweed, and fresh fish. I mean, the soy sauce has a lot of sodium, but you don't have to put that on there." He was using his Danny-knows-better voice, the one that usually caused most of their arguments. "Come on, Min. You know you won't be on this diet in a couple days."

Rather than rise to the bait of a classic Mindy/Danny discussion she just stared at him, biting her bottom lip. It unsettled him. He shifted in his seat. "Min, I hate to ask this, yet again, but you're acting odd. What's going on?"

He was still arranging the food in front of him, opening a small container of fried rice and sitting it in front of her. The smell wafted up to her nose. Her stomach turned and her throat tightened up. She fought the urge to gag, but couldn't stop it this time. She shoved back from her desk, her chair rolling with her as she snagged her waste basket.

She was doubled over clutching the basket in front of her still sitting in her chair. She made the most disgusting noises when she gagged.

Danny had been alarmed when her eyes had widened and she'd gotten the unique look of someone about to throw up. After a second of inaction he sprang out of his chair, rounding the desk.

Mindy felt a light brush against her neck as Danny gathered her hair and held it at the base of her neck. His other hand rested on her back, moving in a comforting circular pattern. He didn't say anything. He'd noticed her darting back and forth across the office a couple of times today.

After a little bit, she felt okay enough to sit back up. Danny reluctantly withdrew, leaning back against her desk, arms crossed in front of him. "Are you sick?"

She looked up at him sheepishly, reaching over to grab her water. She took a gulp, swishing it around in her mouth before spitting in the waste basket one last time. "Um, no, not sick, exactly."

Danny raised an eyebrow. That was an odd answer. "If you're sick, you need to go home for the day. We have patients who don't need to be exposed…" He trailed off. There it was again. She was looking at him like he was a lost puppy. "You're not sick?"

She shook her head.

"And you can't have sushi or caffeine?"

She shook her head again. The breath caught in her chest. Danny was an OBGYN. It wouldn't be hard for him to put two and two together. She stared up at him expectantly. She could see the gears turning in his head.

"And you've stopped drinking alcohol and cut back on sugar?"

She nodded.

He frowned, an intense look of concentration on his face. He blinked a couple of times before complete understanding settled over him. His face suddenly relaxed, his lips parted in disbelief. "Min, are you…?"

She still couldn't find the ability to speak. She just nodded, swallowing hard.

Danny pushed himself off the desk, positioning himself directly in front of her. He reached forward, settling his hands on her shoulders. "Mindy?" He only said her name, but it held a questioning tone that let her know he was asking for a full explanation.

She looked down at her hands folded in her lap, avoiding his intense stare. He dropped to his knees in front of the chair, not letting go of her shoulders. "Mindy, please say something."

She took a deep breath and ventured a glance back up. "I'm pregnant."

The words hung in the air between them. He looked at her. He'd known what she was going to say. He'd thought he'd been prepared to hear the words, but now that she'd actually said them, he felt like he'd been hit by a ton of bricks.

His chest constricted and his throat went dry. He felt his heart increase in speed, knocking against his sternum. The damn sweating started. He swallowed, trying to regain some composure. It didn't work. "Min, is it, uh, or rather, how long…. Am I?" He was on the verge of hyperventilating, unconsciously tightening his grip on her shoulders.

He realized what he was doing and released her, pulling back resting on his haunches. He wiped his sweaty palms on his thighs. "How?" He was staring at her like she was an alien, something foreign that his brain couldn't process.

She folded her arms across her abdomen, looking away from him. "Oh, I don't know, Danny, the usual way? How do you think it happened?" She was terrified that he was going to freak out, and she overcompensated. "You're an OBGYN aren't you? I think you can figure it out."

He completely ignored her facetious commentary. He stood up and began pacing in front of her. "Is it… am I? Mindy, please tell me."

She felt bad. He was clearly panicking, and she didn't begrudge him the right. She'd had her freak out weeks ago, and it had admittedly drained her. She'd come to terms with it all though, and she hoped Danny could too. "Yes. It's yours…. and mine." She couldn't quite keep the awe out of her voice.

He stood up, backing away from her, going straight for the door. Her stomach dropped to her toes. She hadn't expected him to leave. She felt the overwhelming urge to cry. She twisted her chair around, so no one would see her breakdown. She heard the door catch as he pushed it shut.

"Mindy, I want to, um, talk about…. this thing, but not here, and… well not now.. ok? People are too nosy, alright?" She was looking up at him, a surprised expression on her face, unshed tears gleaming in her eyes.

With each question, it was as though he was pleading with her to cut him some slack. He was pacing in front of her desk. Yes, he was panicking, but underneath the vibrating anxiety in his chest, there was this tiny flutter of warmth. He needed some time to wrap his mind around it all. "Mindy? Ok?"

She nodded. "I.. I was going to tell you… Soon, Danny. I promise. I'd planned to do it tomorrow, you know, so you'd have the weekend to mull it over… come to terms with it." The little tinge of awe he'd heard in her voice earlier had disappeared.

He frowned. He hadn't meant to make her feel so… unhappy? In all honesty the prospect of having a child outweighed the undesirableness of the path it took to get here. He needed her to know how he viewed things. He stopped his nervous pacing and stood directly in front of her. "Look, this is… crazy. It's unexpected. It's kind of a mess, but I'm not mad. We'll figure it out." He attempted a shaky smile, because he couldn't stand to see the lost expression on her face any more. "Just give me a couple of days to sort things out. I'm not coming in tomorrow, so don't freak out when I'm not here. I'll come over to your place Sunday, and we'll talk."

She nodded, halfheartedly smiling back at him. He exited her office, gently shutting the door behind him. She'd known he wouldn't back down from this, but she was also afraid his sense of obligation would make him do something he didn't actually want to do.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I finished my outline for the whole story last night. It's probably going to be longer than I anticipated. I guess I have trouble reigning all this in. As always, I genuinely appreciated anyone who takes the time to leave a comment or review. I like hearing what you have to say, and I take it into consideration.**

CH3

Sunday evening came quicker than Mindy had anticipated. She hadn't heard from Danny since he left the office early Thursday afternoon. She was beginning to worry that he needed more time to mull over the situation.

She glanced over at the clock hanging on the wall above her TV. Half past six, and still no word from him. She didn't really know what to do with this anxiety she felt. In the past she would have had half a glass of wine and devoured and entire package of sour straws, but alcohol was a no-no, and she really was trying to be healthier now that she was pregnant.

She got up from the sofa, deciding to utilize the nervous energy coursing through her. She would cook. It was about dinnertime anyway, and for the first time in several years her fridge was fully stocked. She hadn't been kidding when she told Danny she was making changes in her life. This was just the first of many.

As she stood in front of the open fridge she realized she'd bought a lot of random things, and she had absolutely no idea what to prepare. There was lettuce in the crisper along with some other veggies she'd randomly collected in the produce aisle at the supermarket. She could make a salad. The idea wasn't all that appetizing, but she didn't really have a lot of culinary knowledge at fingertips.

Mindy heard a knock at her door just as she plunked the produce down on the counter. The nervous energy vanished, leaving her filled with a quiet sense of trepidation. This conversation was going to be strained, but she had no idea where it would end up.

"It's open!" She busied herself with finding a salad bowl and the lettuce spinner she knew she purchased online last year. She heard the latch on the door click and Danny's tread just inside the foyer.

"Unlocked? Mindy, that's not safe, this is New York, not the gated community you grew up in." He unwound the scarf from around his neck and shrugged off his coat, hanging both of them on the hook by the wall. "I could have been the south side stalker."

She looked up at him, surprised at his nonchalant tone. She smiled reflexively. "This isn't the south side." She turned to the sink to dunk the lettuce she torn up under cold water. "The cat burglars on this side of town usually come in through the window."

She dumped the wet lettuces into the spinner, staring at it with a perplexed look on her face. He made his way over to her side, reaching across the surface to pick up the lid to the contraption, snapping it on and pressing the button on top. The inner basket began to spin.

"Is this your dinner? Salad?" He looked at her incredulously.

She pursed her lips. "You have a better idea?"

Danny emptied the now dry lettuce into the wooden salad bowl sitting on the counter before turning back to her fridge, peering in thoughtfully. Without a word he shut the door and turned to her pantry doing the same. He paused thoughtfully, before collecting a few items. "You went shopping?"

Without waiting for an answer he returned to her fridge, adding items to the ones already in his arms. "We can have grilled chicken and some roast potatoes." He looked over at her, an eyebrow raised. "And your salad."

Mindy was momentarily speechless. Danny looked at home in her kitchen. Her poor little kitchen that was almost never used for cooking. For a while it had been more of a poor woman's substitute for a wine cellar, but now Danny had grabbed the apron hanging on the hook by her oven and wrapped it around his torso, and was twisting the knobs on her range, and suddenly it seemed like something out of the pages of _Home & Country_ magazine.

She watched him work. He opened the package with the chicken in it and laid it across the grill, carefully turning to dispose of the package before going to her sink to wash his hands. He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Can you turn the tap on for me? I don't want to contaminate your sink. You have to be really careful about things like this, especially now." The last two words came out of his mouth softly, and the atmosphere was dampened considerably.

She swallowed, suddenly remembering why they were both here. She walked over to the sink, reaching around him to twist the hot water tap. She brushed up against him with the motion, feeling the heat radiating off of him. Was he nervous? "Danny, I know this is a mess, but—"

"No." He cut her off. "We'll talk about it after we eat, ok?"

She nodded in acquiescence, retreating from the sink. The rest of the meal preparation flew by in a strangely comfortable silence. She finished preparing the salad, making a simple vinaigrette per Danny's instructions. He took care of the more complicated items. It seemed as though she had accidentally picked a lot of useful things while grocery shopping.

Finally, they sat down at her island, two plates filled with simple, yet fairly healthy food. She was starving, her nausea hadn't abated much in the past couple days, but she had her moments of ravenous hunger when it was absent. This appeared to be one of them.

She picked up her fork and started sampling the potatoes. "Mmm, Danny this is good, maybe you should come over and cook more often." She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling.

Danny looked down, concentrating more than necessary on the food in front of him. He felt a flush rise up to his ears and a fine sheen of perspiration develop across his forehead. "Actually Min, that's what I wanted to talk about."

He turned to face her. She hadn't really heard what he said, and was still eating her food with a joyful gusto. At another time Danny would have found her enjoyment flattering. It was so her, and something that had always amused and pleased him.

He continued on with determination. "Mindy, I think we should get married." The words came out a little faster than he'd intended, and there was a slight crack in his voice on the last word. He pushed forward. "I thought about it all weekend, and it's the best possible course of action."

Mindy's eyes widened and her fork dropped to her plate with a jarring clatter. "Danny, what are you doing?" She pushed away from the counter, slipping off the stool. She leaned forward and shoved at him. "That's the least romantic way anyone has ever proposed…. Ever." She shoved him a second time on the last word. "Seriously Danny, what are you thinking?"

Danny slipped off his stool and stood facing her. Where the hell had that come from? He'd meant to go over the logistics of raising a child together, the prospect of trying to find larger places in close proximity. He'd wanted to use the fact that they were friends as a positive. They spent so much time together already, it wouldn't be a hard transition to spending time together with a child.

He opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find the words. He just stood there, opening and closing it like some sort of idiotic fish out of water. He cleared his throat, plucking at the front of his shirt with one hand while running the other one through his hair. "I mean, um, Min. It wasn't a proposal, exactly. I… well…" He sighed turning to face the counter and resting his hands on it, the cool tile in utter contrast to his hot sweaty palms. "I just said 'I _think' _we should get married. It's a thought. Maybe we should think about it."

She crossed her arms in front of her. It was a position Danny knew well. She always assumed it when she wanted to put up walls. He continued on. "But I can see you're pretty averse to the notion, so we can just talk about other ideas."

She frowned. "Of course I'm averse to it. You don't really want to marry me. You have some archaic 1950's sense of obligation. You can't get married just because of…" She trailed off, losing her momentum. "Just because I was stupid and made a mistake."

The tears he heard in her voice made his head snap around to look at her. "No, Min, it's not your fault. It takes two… and all that crap." He walked over to her, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder. He sighed. "We don't have to tell anyone it was an accident."

She looked at him strangely, the sudden urge to cry slowly dissipating. "What?"

He led her back to her stool, encouraging her to sit again, and took his place beside her. An idea was forming in his head. It bolstered his confidence and banished the nerves he'd been feeling. He dug into his grilled chicken. "Min, we could just tell them we're friends and we decided to have a kid together. It's not unheard of."

Mindy let the idea float around in her head for a moment, chewing thoughtfully one of Danny's roast potatoes. "I'm not going to lie. I do not relish the idea of telling people, colleagues especially, that we have an unplanned pregnancy. Do you know how many times I've told young girls that they need to take charge of their reproductive health? That they are the ones responsible? I feel like such an idiot."

"You can't keep beating yourself up. What's done is done." Danny took a drink of water. "And, I think we could move in together, temporarily of course, just to make things easier."

Mindy narrowed her eyes. "You have a one bedroom apartment, so do I. Do you propose one of us sleep on the couch every night?"

Danny sent her a sidelong glance. "Well it would be me, obviously…. Although it's not like you can get more pregnant." It was a calculated comment. He wanted her to laugh. She was looking far too serious for his liking, far too disappointed with herself.

Mindy, in spite of her desire to remain dramatically melancholic, felt the corner of her mouth twitch up. "You could always try to get me extra pregnant. You and that potent Italian genetic material." She wagged her eyebrows at him suggestively, breaking into a subdued chuckle. "But seriously, you can't sleep on a couch for nine months."

Danny felt himself smiling. He always got a little zing of pleasure when he made her laugh. "Well, actually, I went to see a real estate agent Friday. He's got a bigger place for me to look at. He seems to think it'll be easy to sell my place."

Her eyes widened, and he continued before she could say anything. "I mean, I'll have to get a bigger place anyway. A kid has to have a bedroom." He was grinning. It was that rare smile, the one she'd only seen two or three times. His typical half smile broadened across his face, his eyes crinkling. She felt her stomach flip. "And you'll have to look for a bigger place too. I told my agent to keep an eye open for places close together."

"Oh my God." Mindy pushed back from the counter, the stool scooting against the floor. "Danny, I didn't even think about that. I can't live here… after. I have to put this place on the market. I have to get a real estate agent. There are so many practical things that haven't even crossed my mind. I barely have a doctor picked out."

She was spiraling. Danny could hear the edgy panic rising up. "Mindy. Breathe. It's fine. You have time to figure all of this out."

Strangely enough, Danny's words helped. She took a deep breath and looked at him. The soft expression in his deep brown eyes did more than calm her. She felt a strange flutter of affection in her chest. For Danny. Danny Castellano. Her co-worker… and the father of her unborn child. She swallowed, needing to put some space between them. "I know, but Danny I don't think we should live together. It would be a disaster."

Danny's eyes dropped to his hands, his jaw muscle worked a bit. He wanted to be there for his child, for every little moment. He didn't want to miss a thing, and he couldn't see that working out if they lived separately. But, and it was a something he was reluctant to admit, he could see how it would be difficult living together. They weren't exactly opposite sides of the same coin. They did fight frequently.

"You don't even want to try it?"

She heard the defeat in his voice, and felt guilty, but it wasn't enough to change her mind. She'd been afflicted with confusing feelings regarding Danny lately, and living together temporarily would complicate things. "Let me think about it, Danny."

He nodded, hearing her real answer in the tone of her voice.

* * *

Mindy stretched, feeling the lazy pleasure of someone waking up before the alarm. She turned over, letting out a cat like yawn as the light of early morning streamed in through the window, filtering through her still closed eyelids. She opened them, reluctantly.

She wasn't in her room. She wasn't in any room she'd ever been in before, but somehow she wasn't freaking out. It was a large room, decorated in earth tones with accentuating pops of color here and there, in a way reminiscent of her own decorative taste, combined with something more masculine.

She flipped back the comforter and climbed out of bed, instinctually heading for the door, the smell of bacon wafting through it. She followed her nose and ended up in a kitchen. A man was standing at the stove, his back to her. He was very familiar, so much so that her heart stopped in her chest when she saw him. Danny.

She made a move to step forward but stopped in her tracks when she heard a little voice excitedly chattering away. "Daddy, daddy, daddy, are you making pan pakes?"

An excited little boy was hopping excitedly up and down, his tawny skin flushed with excitement, a head full of sooty black curls. She felt her throat close up and her eyes tear. Danny twisted around, bending slightly to talk to the little boy. She couldn't hear what they were saying.

Danny turned around, a conspiratorial smile on his face, eyes sparkling when they looked at her. The cheerfully bouncy three year old turned in her direction and ran at her without reservation. She bent over and scooped him up, as though she'd done it a million times, cradling him to her chest. She buried her nose in his hair, breathing deeply.

She was overwhelmed by how much she loved the child in her arms, suddenly knowing that he was Michael Naveen Castellano, and that he loved blueberry pancakes, or pan pakes as he called them, more than any other breakfast food in existence. She felt tears in her eyes for the second time in less than five minutes. His little arms encircled her neck, their chubby softness something she once thought she might never feel.

Pulling back from her face a little he looked up at her with his bright eyes. "Mama, mama, mama, daddy's making pan pakes, just for you." He snickered and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Will you share?"

She nodded, overcome with emotion, squeezing him closer to her. He giggled. "That tickles." She loosened her grip, repositioning him to rest on her hip. Danny flipped the last pancake, adding it to a large stack on a plate with some bacon. He walked it over to the table, using his spatula to fill the plates set there.

She followed him, taking a seat. Michael resettled himself in her lap. Danny smiled down at her. "Good morning." He was staring up at him as though he were an alien. He looked so happy, carefree even. The full smile plastered across his face. Her heart skipped a beat as he leaned down to her. "Love you."

Settling his hand on the back of her neck, he pulled her in for a kiss. His lips were soft, softer than she remembered from their impulsive night together. That night they'd tried to devour each other, desperately kissing hard, nipping at each other. This was different, it was gentle.

Her eyes had closed of their own accord, and when he pulled away she was left needing more. He continued to smile down at her. She was lost in it. "G-good morning. L-love you, too." It came out in a stuttering breathless gasp.

He threaded his fingers through her hair, running them down its length until he reached the end before pulling away. He took the seat at her elbow, rather than the one across, so he could more easily help her wrangle their enthusiastic child. "We have to hurry up with breakfast. Ma's expecting us shortly."

They chatted easily, about the weather, about the information Danny found pertinent in his newspaper. Michael destroyed a couple pancakes with sticky syrup covered fingers, getting some of it in Mindy's hair, and the rest of it on his face.

She couldn't resist the urge to leave smacking little kisses on his chubby cheeks, and found herself bouncing him in her lap just to hear his unrestrained giggles. Countless times, Danny reached across to her, absentmindedly tracing index finger along her arm, sending shivers up and down her spine.

When they were finished with breakfast, they bundled up and got into the little car, ready to make the short trip to Staten Island. They rode in the car, listening to an odd combination of music that was uniquely Danny/Mindy. Michael clapped his hands in the back, mumbling along with the music in some semblance of words.

Mindy felt joy bubble up in her chest. She leaned back against the headrest, smiling to herself. The music faded away, and then the hum of the car disappeared. She opened her eyes. She wasn't in a car anymore. She was standing in the middle of her apartment, only it was empty. No furniture, no decorations. Danny was standing in front of her, looking at her sadly.

Her throat closed up, clogged with tears. "Danny? Danny? Where's Michael?" She rushed over to him, frantically clutching at him.

He smiled sadly at her, trailing index finger down her abdomen. "Right here."

She looked down at his hand in confusion. She could still feel Michael in her arms, she could still smell the baby shampoo from his hair. A little sob escaped her. "What?"

Danny wrapped his arms around her. "It wasn't real, Mindy." The words were whispered sadly in her ear. She pulled away from him, tears streaming down her face. "That's not going to happen with us. We're not going to be together."

She was sobbing in earnest now. "Why Danny? We're here now." She gestured to the empty apartment. "What does this mean?"

"None of this is real, Mindy." He continued to rub her shoulders. She closed her eyes and pressed her face against his chest, gently crying.

* * *

When she opened her eyes again, Danny's chest had transformed into the fabric of her tear soaked pillow case. Her sheets were all twisted around her, and her pajamas were bunched up in all the wrong places.

She continued to sob, residual emotions making her chest tight. The dream had been so vivid, she hadn't known it wasn't reality until things had shifted into the surreal. Damn pregnancy hormones. She'd listened to dozens of stories from patients about bizarre and vivid dreams, but had never really thought they were like this. After laying in the dark, breathing deeply for a good ten minutes she reached over to her night stand and flicked on her lamp.

Her alarm clock read 3 a.m. She looked at her phone innocently lying next to it. Her fingers itched to pick it up. She had the overwhelming need to call Danny. She needed to hear his voice at least, to be reminded that he at least existed outside of the realm of dreamland.

She snatched the phone to her chest, scrolling through her contacts until she saw Danny's photo. She'd snapped it in spite of his efforts to avoid her. His hand was thrown up in protest, mouth partially open saying something she couldn't remember. She smiled and hit call.

It rang twice before he picked up. He didn't say hello, but rather croaked out her name. "Mindy?" He sounded worried. Before she could answer. "Mindy? Are you ok? Is something wrong? Do I need to come over? It'll only take a couple minutes to—"

She interrupted his anxious list of questions. "Danny, I'm fine." She was suddenly shy. She hadn't thought past hearing his voice. She didn't know what to say.

"Mindy, it's 3 a.m. Are you sure you're ok?"

She felt a lump in her throat when she heard the concern in his voice. She cleared it with a cough. "Um, Danny, I just wanted to tell you that I've thought about what you said." She stopped. Clearly the dream had an effect on her. She had an achingly empty spot in her chest where minutes ago unremitting joy had resided. "Living together, at least temporarily, may not be a bad idea."

She heard him sigh on the other end of the line. She couldn't tell if he was frustrated about her unnecessarily late call, or if he was relieved that she'd come round to his way of thinking. "Ok, Min, that's… great. I'm going to meet with my agent at lunch on Friday to look at places." He paused, unsure of his next statement. "Do you, maybe, want to come with me?" She was silent. He hastily added, "You know, so she can start looking for you too."

Mindy continued to nod, belatedly realizing she was on the phone. She cleared her thick throat and croaked out. "Yes. Thanks, Danny. See you tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I am slowing hacking away at the behemoth of an outline that I created for this fic. I think it may be a very slow burn. I hope everyone is ok with that. Also, I do need to thank a diligent reader for alerting me to the fact that I picked an Islamic name for the dream child's middle name, I went back and changed it to something Hindu. I'll be sure to google these things in the future. As always, your input is always welcome, so feel free to leave comments and reviews about whatever you want. Love you all.**

CH4

Mindy ran her finger along the window sash. The view was amazing. She could see the sprawling beautiful architecture of the New York skyline framing a patch of Central Park. It was marvelous, the kind of thing she'd dreamt of when she moved to New York.

"What do you think?"

She twisted around to look at Danny. He stood behind her, hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched a little in anticipation of her answer. The hopeful look on his face made her flush slightly. She felt dizzy. "Danny, this is amazing, but what do you need with three bedrooms?"

The real estate agent who'd been hovering in the background walked over to them. "An extra bedroom or two is always useful. An at home office. A gym. An extra guest room." She hugged her clipboard to her chest. "This place is posted slightly under market value. If you make an offer now, I'm sure you could get it."

Danny glanced at his agent then back to Mindy. "A guest room." He crossed his arms in front of his chest, a gesture that seemed a little defensive to Mindy. He cleared his throat, suddenly unsure of what he was about to say. "W-wouldn't it be nice if we could easily, um, well, flow back and forth between each other's places." He was sweating, and she was silent. "F-for the child."

She nodded, kind of floored by his suggestion. It wouldn't be a guest room. It would be her room, for whenever she decided to stay with him. Uncomfortable with her silence he pushed on. "And I mean, then there wouldn't be the stress of trying to sell your place right away. You could take your time."

He didn't know why, but there was some part of him that wanted to leave her that. He didn't want to force her to sell the apartment she loved so much. He didn't want to make her rush around looking for a new place. Real estate in New York City could be a battlefield.

She turned back to the window, gazing out across the city, strange emotions zipping through her. Little pieces of her dream kept flashing into her mind. Dream Danny had told her that they would never be together like that, but here she was being offered what seemed like a permanent place in his home. Her heart did a skittering double beat.

Her decision made, she slowly turned around to face the pair across from her. She narrowed her eyes, focusing on the petite real estate agent to Danny's left. "I don't know Danny, this place is awfully big." The tone of her voice alerted him to her actual intentions. It was the tone she used when telling a story, when setting up a grand scheme. He fought the urge to smile. She continued. "I mean, really, look at these hardwood floors. It just seems a little cold."

She turned back to the window, pressing her palm up against the glass. "And speaking of cold, when's the last time this place was renovated? These windows can't be up to the latest eco-friendly standards." She whirled around, flipping her hair dramatically. "And she hasn't even mentioned one former owner that was a celebrity. How can we live in a place that isn't good enough for Ice-T or Jerry Orbach. Statistically there should be at least one actor from one of the _Law & Order_'s that's lived here."

Danny shook his head, sending a sympathetic glance to his realtor. "Min, that's ridiculous, there—"

She put her hand up in a theatrical flourish. "Oh, Danny, but it's not. Do you even know how many actors there are on that show?"

Real estate agent opened her mouth to say something, but Mindy rushed on. "Too many to count, that's how many. You didn't know this, but I was on an episode of _Law & Order_ once."

Danny dragged his hand down his face. This was getting ridiculous. "Min—"

This time it wasn't Mindy that cut him off, but rather the agent. She had stepped forward in front of Danny, ignoring him, a look of fascination on her face. "Really? Which one?"

Danny gaped at the two of them. He felt like he'd stepped through a portal to another dimension. Was his real estate agent really falling for this shtick?

Mindy nodded in affirmation. "Oh yeah, and it was the good one too, _SVU._ Walked right through the background of while they were pulling a decapitated drug dealer out of a dumpster. I even got to hear Ice-T deliver the death pun." She cocked her head to the side, putting her hands up in front of her, doing her best cool/tough guy impression. "Shoulda went to those anger management classes. Really lost his head this time."

The real estate agent laughed, almost giggling. "Oh, you know he's my favorite." She bit her lip, looking back and forth between Mindy and Danny, settling on Mindy, a conspiratorial expression on her features. "You know, I really shouldn't tell you this, but this place has been on the market for a while now. The owners are delusional about how much they think they can get out of it, but if you put in an offer for current market value, I can probably convince them to accept it."

She winked at Danny. "My commission will be less, but these people have been driving me crazy, and I'll consider it an investment. Personal connections gets you really far in this business." She pulled out her business card and gave one to Mindy. "I'll leave you two here to discuss it. Just drop the key with the doorman before you leave. I'll be expecting a call."

The moment the door shut, Mindy started doing a victory dance, pointing her fingers in the air, shimmying in a semi-circle. Danny looked at her, amazed. He would have never thought to take that tack when dealing with a real estate agent. He had lists of market values, and recent purchases of comparable properties in the building and area. He'd been ready to do some serious negotiating just to get the price down to fair market value, and she'd done it just by being friendly.

Sure, it was probably a pretty big stroke of luck, but he'd often found that people were drawn to Mindy, and she could read them sometimes, even if she had trouble doing it with those close to her. She'd been drawn back to the window, gazing out at the beautiful vista. She sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "So, what do you think? Do you want to make an offer?"

Danny was looking at her, noting the way the late afternoon light played across her skin, lending it a unique burnished tone. She had asked him something. What was it? Did he want to make an offer? "Yeah, I really do."

She whirled around, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. She was smiling broadly. "Good, I think this'll be a great place. The view alone is amazing." She continued to smile as she strode past him toward the door, oblivious to the sudden drop in his voice.

He paused to watch her go. "It really is." The words, spoken softly, carried the weight of a sudden realization. He snapped out of it and quickly followed her out the door.

* * *

Excitement tinged with nervousness bubbled through Mindy. She sat on the edge of the exam table in her flimsy gown fidgeting, twisting the edge of the garment in her hands. Danny reached over, grabbing her hand, stilling its movement. "Relax."

She glanced at his hand, settled so familiarly over hers. He looked at their hands as well, awkwardly pulling back, running his hand through his hair. It was the twelve week appointment and Mindy was nervous. They had both agreed to wait until the first trimester was over before telling people about the pregnancy. She jiggled her knee, fidgeting.

Danny looked at her again. "Mindy, I'm sure everything is fine. Don't be so anxious."

"I know it's alright. I can tell. I'm very in tune with my body. I'm just anxious about telling everyone."

Danny looked at her strangely. "We've already discussed this. We're going to tell them we planned it, and we're not going to go into detail, no matter how nosy the people we work with get." He was tempted to take her hand again, to give it a reassuring squeeze, but he refrained.

Mindy looked at him. Since her dream she found herself looking at him differently. She found herself wondering what kind of father he would be. Everything she saw made her feel that he would be amazing. What she was concerned about was whether or not she would be a good mother. Her normal confidence abandoned her when she thought about it for any extended amount of time.

"Yes. We'll tell them that, but what will we say when they ask why? How will I explain choosing such an old man to be the father of my child?" She wanted to poke at him. Since she'd dropped the bombshell on him he'd been fairly delicate with her, and she was tired of it. She missed their discussions. "I mean, if I really wanted to go this route, I could have gotten a young Abercrombie model type to donate the necessary ingredients."

Danny narrowed his eyes. He could tell when he was being baited. She probably wanted to take her mind off of things, and that was fine by him. "Well, I didn't exactly donate my ingredients. And what about you? You don't think people will ask me why I chose you?"

Mindy snorted. "Oh, please, you donated your ingredients. You donated them multiple times." She smirked at him. "And as for people asking you why you chose me… well, that's not going to happen. It's fairly obvious. I'm amazing."

She didn't feel as confident as she sounded. She'd spent many hours contemplating the very thing he was talking about. She wasn't the type Danny had been with in the past. There seemed to be this succession of tall slender women with classically beautiful features. She tried to stop talking, but she was unable to quell the urge to add one more thing. "But, I suppose we should think of some reason, other than my stunning personality, since it's not something you've been enamored with in the past."

Danny frowned. There was an undertone of vulnerability in her last remark. It seemed like she was fishing for some kind of response. "Maybe not _enamored_, but I've always like you, Min, you have to know that."

"What? You totally hated me when we first met!" She was smiling. Danny's response had sent a surge of happiness through her.

He couldn't help but return the smile directed at him. He felt his eyes crinkle as the corners of his mouth twitched up. "Well, you riled the hell out of me, but I could tell it was only because you liked me."

She reached down and playfully punched him in the shoulder. "If anyone had a middle school mentality it was you. Always strutting around with that 'Look at me and my biceps in this t-shirt. I'm Italian and from the island' attitude." She fell into her usual impression of him, cartoonish hand gestures and all.

He interrupted her. "That is _not_ how I sound."

She continued to smile, smoothing out the paper gown across her knees as she swung her legs back and forth. "It's so is."

He could feel happiness radiating from her, and it did strange things to his insides. He wanted to tell her he was happy with their current situation. The deal on the new place was almost finalized. He couldn't help but feel like he was finally starting his life. She had taken all of this in great stride, but their living situation seemed to be the biggest hiccup for her.

She had been staying at his apartment a couple nights a week. She'd told him that until the new place was ready she couldn't' completely move in, and he understood. As it was, her things were completely taking over his bedroom. Clothing strewn everywhere, bottles of lotion sitting on various surfaces. Danny was normally a very fastidious person, and found himself picking up after her on the nights she didn't come over, but it didn't bother him all that much.

Danny was lost in thought when Mindy's gyno, Dr. O'Reily, breezed through the door, chart in hand. "Hello, Ms. Lahiri, how are we today?"

Mindy brightened. "Wonderful. My nausea seems to have disappeared. Although having a live in chef seems to have been a major factor in that." She glanced over at Danny.

Danny looked at her, at a loss for words. Mindy didn't compliment him very often, so when she did it always surprised him. Dr. O'Reily studied the pair in front of her. She'd had a strange conversation with Mindy shortly after her first appointment, getting some convoluted explanation about why she'd originally been given a fake name. Staring at the couple in front of her she wondered what was really going on. The man sitting to her left had obvious stars in his eyes, even if Mindy seemed oblivious to it.

She set the chart down and grabbed a pair of gloves from the box sitting on the counter. "We'll, your blood work will be back soon, although it's been fine the past two appointments, and you've had no problems, right?" She peered at Mindy in askance. Mindy shook her head. Dr. O'Reily continued. "Alright, we'll do a quick exam and then get to the ultrasound. I know that's probably what you're most excited about.

Mindy awkwardly hoisted her feet into the stirrups. She hated this part. She was unaccustomed to such vulnerability and didn't like it. She always dreaded her gyno appointments. That saying, that doctors make the worst patients, was patently true in her case. Danny made sure to stay at her shoulder during the exam, although he carefully scrutinized the expressions on Dr. O'Reily's face, wanting to be the first to know if anything was wrong.

Everything was fine, and they quickly moved on to the ultrasound. The cool lubricant spread across Mindy's abdomen as the doctor positioned and repositioned the wand. Mindy and Danny's eyes were both glued to the monitor. Dr. O'Reily raised her hand, as if about to point something out, but before she could say anything Mindy squealed and snatched Danny's hand. "Danny, Danny, Danny, you can see everything. There's the head, and the limbs."

She was clutching at his hand, and he kept looking at it and glancing back at monitor. He was speechless. In all the hundreds of times he'd done this, looked at ultrasounds up on that black and white monitor, he'd never really understood the emotional response people would get. But it suddenly hit him that he was looking at his child, someone that didn't exist three months ago, and now his life would be different forever. He couldn't breathe, and found himself gripping Mindy's hand back.

Dr. O'Reily smiled. "Oh yeah, that's right, you're both OB's too. Well, as you can see, everything looks fine, although with the way it's positioned, I don't think we'll be able to tell the sex today." She repositioned the wand to try and get an image from another angle. Shaking her head, she said, "Nope. Not today." She reached over to the machine, pressing a few buttons. "We'll get some stills for you to take home."

Getting up, she grabbed the chart, making a few notations. "I'll be right back. Go ahead and get dressed." She walked out the room quickly.

Danny was still in shock. Well, not shock really, just some altered state he didn't recognize. He was all sweaty and anxious, but also happy. It wasn't until this very moment that he'd realized the gravity of this situation. There would be another human being, someone in this world that he was completely responsible. This new person would be here for the rest of his life. He would be tied to Mindy forever. He looked down at her, their hands still intertwined, and wondered if she was feeling the full import of it all.

There were tears streaming down her face, and she was still staring in wonder at the frozen monitor. "I never thought it this would happen." She spoke the words quietly, almost as if she didn't realize she'd said them out loud. "I hated it, but sometimes I used to get jealous of my patients. It always made me feel so petty, but it all seemed so unfair." She glanced down at his hand in hers, surprised by the contact.

Danny, unsure of how to respond, merely brushed his thumb across the back of her hand. "I know you didn't plan it like this, but right now I can't think of anything I would change."

The expression on his face was soft, softer than she'd ever seen it, and it melted her. Danny was more than met the eye, and there had been so many times when she'd almost seen what was bubbling beneath the surface, but this complete openness was new to her. She swallowed, giving his hand one last squeeze before she unwound her fingers. "Me neither."

Physical contact broken, the spell over both of them seemed to evaporate as well, leaving a quiet awkwardness. Mindy cleared her suddenly thick throat and swung her legs over to the side of the table. "I better get dressed."

She tiptoed behind the curtain where her clothes were still lying. He still felt a little wrapped up in what he'd just experienced. "I'm sorry we didn't get to see the sex today. It would have been amazing to know."

Behind the curtain, Mindy became still. She pursed her lips, wondering whether or not she should tell Danny about her dream. She shrugged. She could alter certain aspects of it. "Actually, this is silly, but I feel like I already know."

Danny's eyebrows shot up, and he stared at the curtain, willing her to come back out. "What do you mean?"

"I had a dream. The baby was a boy, and the women on the pregnancy forums seem to think that a woman's initial instincts are usually right." She had resumed dressing and was fastening the final button of her cardigan when she emerged from behind the curtain.

Danny looked at her dubiously. "Pregnancy forums?"

"You know, online… a place where other pregnant women and mothers can ask each other questions about their journey. Anyway, I'm sure there's some study out there that says it's true."

Danny couldn't wipe the skeptical look off of his face. "Mindy, you're an OBGYN, you don't need other expectant women and mommies to tell you what's happening. You already know the technical stuff. It's absurd to think that you just _know_ what the sex is."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, I am a doctor, and there's a certain amount of camaraderie on the forums, plus I can answer a lot of their questions. Consider it a public service." She grabbed her purse from the stool. "Plus, as I said before, I'm very in tune with my body, and I had a dream that it was a boy." She ran her fingers through her hair, reigning in a few flyaway strands.

Danny was intrigued. "A dream? And it was a boy?" There was a little catch in his voice. It seemed so illogical to give this kind of thing any credence, but Danny couldn't stop the image of a little boy from popping into his head. A child with Mindy's dark silken locks, and his own Italianate features. He cleared his throat, moving over to the chair he'd been sitting in and picking up her coat.

"Alright, alright. I'll take your word for it, but if you're wrong, then I get to pick the name." He held her coat up for her and she threaded her arms through it, tugging her hair out from under the collar.

"It's a good thing I'm right about this, because under no circumstances are we giving a little girl and old lady name, like Ruth or Judith, or anything else ending in –th ." She frowned at the thought.

Danny snorted, an indignant expression on his face. "Those are good solid names. Those are the names of women who get things done."

She rolled her eyes. "It figures you would like them." She smiled at him deviously. "So, if I'm right do I get to pick the boy's name?" Her eyes were sparkling and Danny immediately regretted the deal he'd hastily made. "Because I'm thinking something from _The Hunger Games_ like Peeta or Cinna."

A muscle in Danny's jaw ticked. "What? You've got to be kidding me."

She smiled, fighting the urge to laugh. He looked apoplectic at the idea of naming their child after a fictional character. In truth, she'd never settle for anything other than Michael, but he didn't have to know that. This would be fun.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So, how bout that episode guys? Anywho, now that I've gotten some Dandy feels out of my system via tumblr, I thought I would return to this story, since I have it plotted out already (but oh man the outline is so long). I feel the need to finish it before April 1st rolls around, so I'm going to try and do that. Although, if I'm suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to write some post-desert-plane-kiss one-shots... that'll probably happen too. As always, please feel free to leave reviews, they really really mean a lot to me (add another really for emphasis). :D... Enjoy.**

CH5

STATEN ISLAND, NY

"Oh my God, Danny, stop it. You're freaking me out."

Danny stared at the house in front of them, eyes wide. He was sweating profusely and felt like he was suffocating. His mind was racing. He'd had far too much time on the ferry over to the island to think about what he was going to tell his mother. Now they were standing at the foot of her pathway and he couldn't move forward. He was stuck.

"Are you having a stroke or something?" Mindy was becoming alarmed. Danny had stopped in his tracks and was staring at the house in front of them, and now he wasn't responding to her at all. She hooked her hand through the crook of his arm and started to tug him along. She had little effect.

"I swear to god, Daniel Castellano, if you stroke out on my and I have to raise a child alone, I'll never forgive you!" She jerked at him again.

He snapped out of the trance he was in, gently extricating himself from her grasp. His mother was old fashioned. She had a traditionally Catholic mindset. He didn't know how she would react to this news. They were having a child out of wedlock. They weren't even dating. He swallowed, looking at her. She still had an intense look of concern on her face, and he wished he could do something to ease her mind.

He closed his eyes, rubbing his hands down his face. "I need a cigarette."

Mindy frowned, furrowing her eyebrows. Circling around him she placed her hands flat on his back, and began to shove him up the pathway. "Danny, you're not doing this to me. I can't face your mom without you, and I'm not leaving without telling her." She was grunting as she inched him up the walk. "You dragged me out here."

He spun around, placing his hands on her arms. "Mindy, we're not married." His voice broke on the last word. Swallowing, he rushed on. "A-and we're practically going to be living together... She's going to flip, Min." He let go of her and began pacing. "It was so hard telling her about the divorce, and now this." Hands on his hips, he was staring at his feet.

Mindy frowned. "How do you think I feel? And this isn't making it any better." She gestured to him. "You're acting like a crazy person, sweating all over the place. Good lord, Danny, I think you might be breaking out in hives."

Danny stopped, looking down at his hands. "Wha… No.." He looked at her face. She was genuinely freaked out too. He reached out to her, but she ignored it, brushing past him on her way to the door.

She was all the way to the door, pressing on the doorbell before he snapped out of his shock. He was still several feet behind her when the door swung open. Mindy stepped forward, a bright smile on her face. Extending her hand, she introduced herself. "Hello, Mrs. Castellano, I'm Dr. Mindy Lahiri. I work with your son, and we're going to have a baby."

Maria Castellano stared at the exuberant young woman in front of her, barely registering what she had said, taking the hand proffered. Mindy pulled her into a hug, and she caught Danny on the periphery of her vision. He was a mess, sweating, red in the face as he rushed up to the door. Mindy released her and she glanced between the two. "Daniel, what is going on here?"

Danny opened his mouth. "Ma…" When nothing else came out he awkwardly snapped it shut, nervously placing both hands on the back of his head and shooting his mother a strange look.

She wagged her finger at him. "Oh, no, Danny. That lost little boy look isn't going to get you out of this one." She put her arm around Mindy's shoulders gently and ushered her into the house. "We're going to sit down and you two are going to explain this to me."

* * *

The trio sat in the living room of Danny's childhood home, quietly sipping on herbal tea. Maria sat back in her chair, eyeing the pair sitting across from her. Mindy had done most of the talking, Danny interrupting occasionally to correct some hyperbole. She eyed them suspiciously, not quite believing what she'd been told. "You planned this? But you're just friends?"

Danny glanced away from her, focusing intently on the clasp of his watch. Mindy nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, with each passing year the ticking of our biological clocks has gotten louder and louder, deafening actually, almost like Big Ben or the gong at an Asian fusion restaurant I'd say…" She was rambling. She pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. "Danny's more than mine. I'm only in my late twenties."

Danny interrupted her. "We're the same age!" The assertion came out a little more forcefully than he'd intended. It was his frustration bubbling over. This situation had been completely taken out of his hands, and it unsettled him. His mother shot him an annoyed look. How was he having this particular argument, yet again, in front of his mother at that? He shook his head and refocused his attention on her. "Uh, yeah, clocks… and ticking. It was planned."

Maria Castellano pursed her lips, shifting forward in her chair. She laid her hand on Mindy's knee. "It's been lovely meeting you dear, and I hope we see a lot more of each other," Her tone shifted slightly. "But I need to speak with Danny privately for a moment." She turned to him. "Help me take this back in the kitchen."

He wordlessly followed her, collecting the cups and saucers from the coffee table. Once they were in the kitchen he settled the dishes in the sink, leaning against the counter to face his mother. "Ma…" He didn't know what to say.

She walked over to him, placing her hand on the side of his face. "Danny, you are the worst liar. I know it wasn't planned." Danny found his mother's shrewd gaze unsettling. "I can't lie and say I'm not disappointed, but it's not why you think."

Danny was confused. "What are you talking about?"

She smiled at him. "Sure. This isn't how things are 'supposed' to go. In an ideal world, you'd fall in love, and get married _then_ live together and have a child, but I can't pretend that doing things the way you're supposed to always works out. Look at me. Your father and I did things in the right order, and it was a disaster."

He nodded, still not sure where she was going. "You love her. I can see it, don't bother arguing with me, and you love that future child too. I could see the joy shining in your eyes in spite of your nerves."

Danny couldn't speak. She was right. Completely right, and he was at a loss. He couldn't see a way to change things at this point. He couldn't see a way to tell Mindy how he felt and make her believe it. He'd screwed things up a little with his impulsive proposal. He had to change the subject. This was beginning to get painful.

"What do you think of her?" The question came out softly hopeful.

She smiled at him. "Danny, she's warm and enthusiastic, and it seems genuine. And she gets under your skin, which I think you need. I think she has a lot of love to give." She stared him down as the last words came out.

* * *

CONCORD, MA

Mindy sat, frozen. She didn't want to get out of the car, she was having a mild panic attack. She couldn't do this. Not today, maybe next week. Her mind was spinning trying to think of ways to get Danny to turn around and drive back to New York. They'd driven to Concord with the intention of giving her parents the news, but she'd found with every hour they spent in the car her trepidation increased exponentially.

Danny looked at her. She sat in the passenger seat, her hands wrapped around the handle of her purse, twisting it nervously. "You ready?"

She snapped her head over to him, as if suddenly realizing he was still in the car with her. "No, Danny, I can't do this. Just start the car. We can go back to New York. We'll invite them to Finn's first birthday party."

Danny sighed, unbuckling his seatbelt and turning toward her. "First of all, I veto that name because I know it's short for 'Finnick,' and second of all, you have to tell your parents. We already told my ma. It's time to bite the bullet."

She looked at him, her expression relaxing slightly at the mention of his mother. Danny had been a nervous wreck when they went to Staten Island. He'd been so sure that his mother would be upset with the whole situation. A child out of wedlock with a decidedly non-catholic girl, but Mrs. Castellano had taken it all in stride. As a matter of fact, she had been quite happy about the prospect of having a grandchild, although Mindy wasn't sure if she'd bought their story.

That seemed to be a common problem. No one believed that this was a pair of platonic friends who decided to have a child together. When they'd reluctantly announced it to the office the news had been received in the strangest ways.

Tamra, her usual oblivious self, hadn't even looked up from her magazine, saying, "It's about time, haven't you guys been married for like ten years?" Mindy and Danny's incredulous expressions did little to convince her otherwise.

Peter and Jeremy had both narrowed their eyes, casting suspicious looks in Danny and Mindy's direction. Peter had approached Danny later in the doctor's lounge and attempted to high-five him, saying, "Way to hit and totally not quit it, Castellano." Danny had been hard pressed to quell the urge to punch him in the face.

Even though no one seemed to believe their story, everyone seemed to think it was news worth celebrating, and Betsy had thrown a party at the office, swearing she would throw Mindy the best baby shower ever when the time came.

It was all very strange to Danny. He'd expected shock from everyone. Surely this news was coming out of left field? When people just smiled and nodded at him as if they'd been expecting news of this sort for a while, he became uncomfortable. He knew he'd been treating her differently since he'd found out, but it wasn't even that. He'd been treating her differently for a long time now, and apparently it was obvious to everyone but the parties involved.

He was still looking at her, taking in the soft almost pleasant expression on her face. She closed her eyes and sighed, leaning back against the headrest. "First of all, you're not allowed to veto my names, per our agreement, and second of all I can't lie to my mother. She wouldn't believe me in any case. Something like that I would have told her about. We've always been very close."

Danny tapped the steering wheel thoughtfully. "Then tell her the truth."

Surprisingly, the simple statement held a certain amount of clarity for Mindy. She'd been casting about for different explanations that she could use, discarding one after another because they all involved the telling of untruths. But she still felt butterflies. She didn't want to disappoint her mother.

She looked down at her lap. She felt Danny's hand rest lightly on her shoulder and she glanced up at him curiously.

He took a deep breath, reaching into his pocket with his free hand. "I was going to wait until after we had gotten back to New York to give you this, but I think right now might be better."

Mindy held her breath. What was he doing? A little bubble of anticipation formed in her chest. The panic she had been feeling before suddenly overshadowed by an anxiety of an entirely different kind. If he asked her again she didn't know what she would say. She bit her bottom lip.

He withdrew his hand, holding out the object he'd fished out in front of her face. The light from the street lamps glinted off of it as is swung before her. It was a key, attached to a rectangular metal keychain.

Her eyes lit up. "Is that to the new place?"

Danny nodded and she released the stranglehold she had on her bag, enthusiastically snatching it from his grasp. It was only after she had it in her own hand that she noticed the delicately engraved name on the keychain.

She felt the pricking of tears spring into her eyes and swallowed. "Where did you find this? They never have any with my name on them." She ran her thumb across it, still a little in awe.

Danny felt warmth rush to his ears and was suddenly grateful for the dimness they were sitting in. He tuned and fidgeted with his own car keys. "Um, I, uh… ordered it online." The last three words came out quickly, all jumbled together. He didn't wait for her response. "Min, your parents just want you to be happy. We have a plan. We're adults here. This is going to be fine."

She nodded, still feeling a little emotional over the silly key chain. She shook herself. It had to be the hormones. Surely, right? She wasn't shaken because Danny was saying what she needed to hear, right? Or because she'd thought he was going to propose again and she hadn't known what answer she would have given, right? Definitely hormones. Definitely.

She glanced back at Danny. "Ok, let's do this thing."

* * *

Mindy hadn't even taken two steps inside the door before she found herself speaking, or rather, blurting. "I'm moving to New Zealand to study homeopathic medicine with the Maori." The words came out at double speed all running together.

Her mother froze in mid embrace, slowly backing away from Mindy, noting the frantic wide eyed look her daughter had. "Mindy?" The tone was chiding. She recognized the expression on her daughter's face. It was the same look she had at thirteen when she'd been caught shoplifting at the mall. She made a tsking noise and shook her head. "You've never been a good liar, daughter."

Mindy frowned, biting her bottom lip. "I'm a very good liar." She crossed her arms in front of her, looking down. "Just not with you."

Her mother drew her further into the house, noting Danny's presence with raised eyebrows. "And who is this?" She eyed him while slipping off Mindy's coat and hanging it on the hook. Danny, taking it as a cue to shuck his own.

Danny followed the pair, expecting Mindy to introduce him, but she was still in a strange state of silence. He cleared his throat and introduced himself. "Danny Castellano. I work with your daughter." He extended his hand, embarrassed by the shaky sound of his voice. He'd been tempted to pull the rug out from under Mindy in the same way she'd done to him, blurting out their news, but he didn't have it in him.

Even though he'd been reassuring with Mindy in the car, he felt nervous. Mindy's mother was a quietly composed woman, an aura of wisdom surrounding her. A small smile appeared on her features, softening them somewhat. She took Danny's proffered hand and shook it firmly. "Nice to meet you, Danny. I'm Ama, Mindy's mother, but of course you knew that."

Mindy let herself be led into the large living room at the center of her parents' house. She glanced around, looking for signs of her father. "Where's dad?"

Ama shrugged. "He'll be here shortly. He called from the office, said he was running late." She placed her hands on Mindy's shoulders, urging her to sit down, gesturing for Danny to do the same. "I'll make some tea while we wait for your father, then you can tell me to what I owe this unexpected visit."

Mindy nodded as her mother disappeared into the adjacent room. She was tapping her foot nervously and whispering under her breath. Danny glanced at her curiously, noticing that her eyes were closed. She seemed to be repeating something over and over.

He leaned closer to hear what she was saying. When he was finally close enough to make out what she was saying he let out an involuntary chuckle, bumping his shoulder against hers. "Who's Beyoncé Pad Thai?"

She took a deep meditative breath, turning to Danny. "None of your business." She bent over and picked her purse off the floor, digging through it, searching for something. Grunting in frustration, she shoved her hand further down in the bag. Finally, she found what she was looking for, pulling it out with a flourish.

It was the ultrasound. She held it out in front of her, looking at it the way she had dozens of times since Dr. O'Reily had handed it to her. She smiled, her nerves calming somewhat. When looking at the photo in her hand it was hard for her to believe her mother would be anything but happy for her. She laid it in her lap, resting her palm on it. "It might be easier this way."

Their attention was drawn to the door by the sound of tumblers snicking in the lock. It swung open to reveal an average height Indian man in his late fifties. At the sight of Mindy sitting on the couch he rushed over to them, tossing his brief case aside. "Minnie mouse, so good to see you."

He had the broadest smile on his face, flashing a row of straight pearly whites and crinkling his eyes. Danny felt a little catch in his chest. He'd often wondered what it would be like to have a father to show such unreserved affection.

Mindy's father scooped her up in a bear hug, belatedly realizing there was another person in the room with them. He backed away from Mindy, glancing sheepishly at Danny.

Sunil Lahiri was as ebullient as her mother was reserved. He grasped Danny's hand enthusiastically. "You must be Mindy's boyfriend. It's so nice to meet you, we've heard so much about you."

Danny shot Mindy a confused look before returning his attention to her father. "Um, not exactly. I'm Danny. We work together at the practice." Rising, he shook her father's hand. "It's nice to meet you, um, too." Danny was sweating. He felt like he was sixteen again, meeting his prom date's parents for the first time.

Her father had taken Mindy by surprise when he'd captured her in an embrace. The ultrasound in her lap had fluttered to the floor in the flurry of movement. It caught her father's eye and he bent to collect it.

"Minnie… is this…?" His eyes were wide, but he held his enthusiasm in check, waiting for her for confirmation.

Mindy had never worried about her father's reaction. He'd always been unwaveringly supportive in everything that she did. This would be no exception. She nodded, feeling tears of happiness prick at her eyes.

* * *

Ama looked at the pair sitting across from her sternly. "So, you plan to raise the child together? Do that thing, what's the modern phrase? Co-parent?"

Mindy nodded. Her father had saved her the trouble of telling Ama the news. After seeing the ultrasound he had embraced her in another bear hug, spinning her around exuberantly before calling out to her mother.

Danny's own nerves were playing havoc with him. His palms were sweaty. He had the distinct impression that he was being assessed by the fiercely protective woman sitting across from him. He was momentarily relieved when Ama focused her gaze on her daughter. "Mindy, darling, I love you, but you don't always make the best choices. How many times in the past has your impulsivity caused your problems? This isn't some puppy we can take back to the pound after you realize you can't handle it."

Sunil patted Ama's knee, looking at her with a little frown on his face. "Come now, Ama. She's not thirteen anymore. She's a successful adult with an established career. I certainly think she can handle this. After all, she learned from the best." His eyes twinkled as he said it, and surprisingly Ama's features softened at his words. She leaned over and kissed her husband on the cheek, resting her hand on top of the one placed on her knee.

Ama looked back to Danny, her features once again taking on that of a hardened detective interrogating a murder suspect. "And you? Are you really in this for the long haul? You can't leave Mindy to do this on her own. A child needs two parents, no matter how successful one of them is." Her eyes bore into him waiting for an answer.

Mindy felt her heart stutter a little. Her mother couldn't know she was hitting a sore spot with Danny, but Mindy knew, and she ached for him. She knew better than to interject though. Danny wouldn't appreciate it, and her mother would see it as some sort of bad sign. Instead she placed her hand on his upper arm, giving it a little squeeze of solidarity.

Danny looked at her hand before shyly flashing a quick glance to her face. The trepidation he felt in her mother's presence was suddenly eradicated. He knew exactly how things were going to be, and Ama had nothing to worry about. "Of course I'm going to be around. You have no idea how much I'm going to be around. This kid is going to be sick of me. Dance recitals, little league, cooking lessons." The intensity of his gaze matched Ama's. "No child of mine is ever going to say I wasn't around." In spite of the confidence he felt, Danny still got a little bit choked up on the last sentence. He cleared his throat and added quietly, "Growing up without a father… It's no way to grow up."

Ama nodded at the last words, a feeling of relief settling over her as everything she saw before her clicked in place. She felt the corners of her mouth twitch up in the suggestion of a smile. She was very pleased with the young man sitting before her, and she even felt a little affectionate toward him, having seen the pain flash briefly in his eyes, but what really convinced her that things would be alright was Mindy. Mindy's quietly reassuring touch, and her concerned look when Ama had asked about fatherhood. Those actions told Ama all she needed to know. "Good. Now that we've got that settled, let's eat."

She got up, ushering everyone into the dining area. "Danny, you're in for a real treat. Knowing the way Mindy is around the kitchen, I'm sure you've never had a real authentic Indian meal." Her eyes were sparkling as she patted him on the shoulder.

Danny felt himself smiling. The tension between the four of them had completely dissipated, and he was left feeling the full force of the convivial atmosphere in the Lahiri's home. "Maybe you can teach me a few things. I'm always up for learning new recipes."

"That sounds wonderful. The next time you two come for a visit, we'll have a cooking lesson."

Danny flashed her his crooked smile. "Yeah, next time."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here we go. Chapter six. Actually following the outline I made (sort of). I wonder if the person who left the prompt for this story is still reading it. I'd be very curious to know. :D. As always, your reviews give me life. I love to hear what you have to say.**

CH6

Mindy opened the pantry and peeked over her shoulder before sticking her head all the way in. She rooted around for a couple of minutes before her hand landed on what she was looking for. She pulled out the tub of candy orange slices surreptitiously. She'd been craving them nonstop for the past week, and had snuck the tub into her grocery purchases when Danny wasn't looking.

She pulled two of them out before returning the container back to its hiding place. Popping one in her mouth she relished the overly sweet taste coupled with the mild orange flavor as the sugar crystals melted on her tongue. God, she'd never enjoyed them before. They were basically gelatinous orange globs coated in sugar that stuck to her teeth when she tried to chew them, but right now they were manna from heaven. She sighed.

"Mindy? Orange slices? Again?"

She jumped, spinning around surprised at Danny's voice. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Clearly a lie, the half masticated candy was still rolling around in her mouth as she spoke, sugar crystals clinging to her lips and fingertips.

He walked around his kitchen, making a bowl of cereal. "Those are just corn syrup, you might as well be eating my sugar cubes again, for all the nutritional value they have." She glanced at her, one eyebrow raised as he watched her finish her treat, licking the sugar off her fingers. He swallowed. "I still can't figure out where you're hiding them."

The apartment had been fully furnished and decorated for a couple weeks now. Mindy herself had quietly taken up residence, finding fewer and fewer excuses to return to her place. She hadn't even thought about going there in days.

She had her own bedroom here. Danny had even let her decorate it, not that he would have had much of a choice in the matter, but still, he hadn't said anything when she'd put up aquamarine curtains in the bedroom, or when she'd tossed crystal embroidered throw pillows on his couch.

She smiled when she remembered his halfhearted grumbling over her girly things as they'd ascended with them in the elevator. They'd had exactly one major blowout since they'd begun spending such a large amount of time together, and it had surprised Mindy.

* * *

Just as they were finishing up paperwork at the office, Danny's pager went off. It was an emergency c-section. As usual, he rushed over to the hospital to attend to his patient, and Mindy stayed at the office to finish her paperwork.

It was the first week they'd had the keys to the new place, and Mindy was anxious to get settled in, so she decided to head over there when she was done. Unfortunately she couldn't remember the address and spent the better part of an hour wandering around aimlessly looking for the building.

It was getting late, and somehow she had drifted into an unsavory neighborhood. There were ominous figures loitering in the shadows, at least those were the images manufactured by Mindy's overactive imagination when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She sped up her steps and reached into her pocket, looking for her phone.

She pulled it out, mentally cursing herself realizing it was off. She powered it down after the tenth call from Morgan asking her if she would consider naming the baby Grover. She held her finger down until the phone flickered back to life.

It immediately started buzzing, alerting her that she had received message after message. Danny. Danny. Danny. Danny. Oh shit, there were even missed calls. She bit her bottom lip and opened the messages.

_I finished with the c-section early. Want me to stop by your place with food. Chinese?_

_Hello? Food? Yes or no?_

_Mindy, where are you? I got food anyway. Are you home?_

_Min, you're not answering your door. Is everything ok?_

She felt trepidation settle over her. She hadn't even given two thoughts about letting Danny know where she was. In the past she'd gone on all night excursions in the city, finding neat new places, meeting neat new people. She'd be gone for hours, completely carefree, not thinking once about letting someone know she was ok.

She cautiously tapped her voicemail icon, dreading what she was about to here, but feeling compelled to listen to it anyway.

_Mindy. I swear to god, if you don't let me know if you're ok…. Look, I know you're not home. Gwen hasn't heard from you, neither has your brother. I'm going back to the hospital to check the ER just in case you… Mindy, please call me._

His voice was frantic with worry and Mindy was accosted by a wave of guilt. She felt like a thoughtless idiot. For the past two months Danny had checked in on her every night, a little text, a short call. She just wasn't used to it, and it slipped her mind.

She glanced around her, not recognizing the shops or the buildings. Damn it. She didn't even know where she was and it didn't look like the kind of neighborhood where she could easily hail a cab. She glanced over at the nearest corner, mentally noting the street names. She opened her contacts on her phone and tapped Danny's name, taking a deep breath she waited for him to answer.

He picked up, not bothering with a greeting. "Mindy?" His voice cracked on the second syllable of her name. He still sounded frantic, possibly more than before. "Where are you? Are you ok? Did you get mugged?"

"Danny, I'm fine. I'm sorry. My phone was off." She was prepared to launch further in to an explanation, but Danny cut her off.

"Where the hell are you?" The question came out loudly, tinged with anger and frustration. "I've been calling and texting you for the past two hours, and you haven't responded once. I thought you were dead in a ditch."

"I'm sorry. I told you, my phone was off." She felt a little perturbed at the tone he was taking with her, but she still needed to ask for his help, so she tamped down the urge to bite back. "And I'm lost, so I'm going to need you to come get me."

"What?" She could hear the wind being taken out of his sails. The angry tone disappeared, and he was worried yet again. "What do you mean?"

She reluctantly explained her impulsive decision to head over to the new place after work, and her inability to remember the address correctly. When she told him where she got off the subway she heard him sigh. "That's not even the right stop. Where are you right now?"

She told him the street names, and began to describe her surroundings, but he cut her off. "I know where that is. Don't move." Then he hung up, not waiting for her to reply. She looked down at her phone, feeling like she'd been slapped.

She could tell he was angry still, and was at a loss for a response to his anger. It somehow seemed disproportionate to the situation. So she'd forgotten to call him. Yes, it was thoughtless, but it wasn't like she'd intentionally avoided him.

She walked over to the nearest shop, a tiny little bodega, and pushed the door open, glancing up at the storefront to memorize the name. She had a little time to kill.

* * *

When Danny got to the area she'd called from and she wasn't there, he felt the anger begin to bubble up inside of him again. He texted her again, asking her where she was and this time she replied promptly with the name of a bodega across the street from where he was standing.

She was standing just inside the entryway, sipping on coconut water and chatting idly with the young cashier. Still smiling at something the young woman said, Mindy turned toward Danny at the sound of the bell tinkling above the door.

For a second Danny forgot that he was angry with her. The full force of her sweet smile settling on him like a beam of sunlight. He felt light headed. He was just so relieved she was ok. The scenarios that had been running through his head for the past two hours were the stuff of horror films.

Her smile faded as she took in his presence. His jaw was set and his eyes were intense. She turned to the young woman and made her goodbyes, slowly making her way over to Danny's side. "Danny, I'm sorry. Thank you for coming to get me."

He didn't say anything. His heart was still in his throat, beating wildly. God, he couldn't handle the thought of something happening to her. It terrified him, and that terror easily transformed into anger at her for putting herself in this situation.

He abruptly turned away from her, exiting the bodega without a word. As expected, she followed close behind, chattering away trying to explain herself.

"Look, Danny, I used to do this all the time. You know, wander around the city until I found what I was looking for, or found something even more interesting. I didn't even think about it." She was walking fast to keep up with him. When he didn't say anything she continued. "Besides, this is all Morgan's fault anyway."

Danny didn't want to hear it, so he didn't respond. He just kept walking. Eventually Mindy got the hint that he was giving her the silent treatment. When they got to the subway he led her to an empty seat, looming over her as the car lurched into motion.

She frowned and tried to explain once more. "Danny, would you take a chill pill or something? This is getting ridiculous." He just glared down at her.

Mindy was beginning to get worried. There weren't very many times in their friendship when things had gotten this serious. Sure, they'd had more than their fair share of arguments, but they were usually about ultimately trivial things. This felt different. Danny was genuinely upset, and Mindy felt guilty.

She reached up to him, tugging on his sleeve. He glanced down at her, meeting the full force of her pleading eyes. "Danny, please talk to me."

Danny felt his chest constrict, some desperate emotion flooding him, making it impossible to breathe. Oh, hell. He loved her. His mother had been right, but he wasn't happy about it. It just wasn't fair. How could he love someone who didn't even think about him when he'd left her immediate field of vision? Is that how she felt about him? Out of sight, out of mind? It pissed him off just thinking about it.

He stared at her stonily, finally breaking down enough to say just one thing. "We'll talk as soon as we get home." He looked away from her, pretending to stare ahead at the other passengers, trying to ignore the fact that he'd called his new apartment their home.

It was a very long and silent elevator ride up to the apartment. Neither of them felt comfortable saying anything. Danny didn't know what to say, and Mindy felt obliged to let him steer the conversation since he'd dictated when and where they would talk.

She followed him into the apartment, acquiescing when he moved to help her with her coat. She watched him as he silently hung their coats side by side on the waiting pegs. She felt a little upsurge of emotion, one that she'd been feeling a lot lately, and swallowed.

He turned back to here, still quiet, his eyes searching her face. "Min, this is unacceptable. It's not just you anymore. You have to think about other people now, whether you want to or not."

To the untrained observed, Danny's face looked emotionless. He looked like a man about to set forth a perfectly rational argument, but Mindy was not untrained. She knew Danny inside and out, and she knew that this was what he looked like when he was facing some sort of inner turmoil. He became this great stoic man's man. Seeing him standing before her like this made her want to cry. She really hadn't even known something like this would upset him at all.

She squared her chin and quelled the urge to cry. "It's not that—"

He cut her off, striding purposefully toward her. "No, Mindy, let me finish." He was very close to her now, letting his irritation get the better of him, the mask of stoicism slipping. "I get that you don't think about me. I get it. I mean. We're not together. You don't exactly owe me anything, but we're in this situation together." He wanted so badly to take her by the shoulders and shake her. "Since when do you not answer your phone? Since when do you not immediately reply to text messages? I mean, I was offering you a free dinner. Do you have any idea how freaked out I was when you didn't answer me?"

She was speechless. He'd rounded he bend into highly emotionally very quickly. She could hear the worry inflecting his speech. He stepped even nearer, closing the already small gap. He reached forward, placing a hand on her slightly swollen abdomen. "It's not just you anymore."

She nodded. "I'm not used to this. I've been on my own a very long time. People don't care all that much when I disappear for a few hours. I'm sorry." Her emotions were running high too. Danny's proximity, and the warmth of his hand on her made her slightly breathless. She swallowed and instinctively put her arms around his neck in an embrace.

Danny stiffened slightly before relaxing into her arms and sliding his own around her back. He allowed himself this. The feel of her pressed up against him, her head tucked just under his chin, was torture. He was certain she had no idea how he felt, and he wasn't about to say anything, especially not after such a clear demonstration of her indifference in regards to him.

* * *

Mindy's throat felt tight. Being in Danny's arms was something she'd thought about frequently. He'd held her so gently that one night they were together, breathing softly against her neck as he slept. She'd woken up before him that morning and stayed as still as possible so he wouldn't stir. For the second time she found herself marveling at how right it felt, how safe.

His protectiveness though, was for the child, she was sure. His alarm at her temporary disappearance was just because of the child. She felt affection in his embrace, but she had very little idea if he actually felt anything for her other than friendship. She sighed sadly, pulling away from him. "Truce?"

"Not yet. Can we agree on some basic ground rules? If we're going or doing things out of the norm, we let the other person know?"

She nodded in agreement. He smiled. "Then truce."

He swallowed, suddenly feeling awkward. Having so recently been an exposed ball of nerves, he was still feeling a little raw. He stared at the floor, wondering how to get back to their normal footing. Suddenly he remembered something. His face lit up. "Oh, I'm glad you wanted to come by tonight. I have something to show you."

He took her by the arm, leading her to one of the bedrooms. He pushed her through the doorway at the same time he flicked the light on. It was a nursery, _the_ nursery. He came up behind her. "It's just a crib and a rocking chair. I figured we could wait until we know the sex to actually decorate it."

It wasn't just a crib. There on the wall above it was the ultrasound, professionally framed and everything. Mindy felt so at home. It was strange to her. The apartment wasn't fully furnished yet, odd pieces of furniture here and there, and it wasn't decorated at all, but she still felt like it was a home.

She looked back at Danny. He was still proudly gazing at the nursery, a half smile gracing his face. She felt her heart skitter a little. She swallowed. She knew, on some basic level, that Danny would be an easy person to love, very easy. For the first time in weeks she felt sad about their situation. She would never change it now, but she wished she could have had this realization before putting him in such an obligatory position.

* * *

Now, weeks later, she was standing in his kitchen, swallowing the last bite of a truly terrible confection as he sliced up a banana to go in his cornflakes. She smiled to herself. They'd fallen into an easy routine here. Getting up in the morning, having breakfast together. Danny would leave early to go for his morning jog while she got ready for work.

It was easy. This morning though, he must have put off his exercise. She frowned in confusion. "What are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be halfway through your circuit by now?" She reached across the counter, grabbing one of the bananas he hadn't used and peeling it. She took a bite, staring at him curiously.

"Actually, I had to put that off today. My lawyer just sent some paperwork over this morning. I had to go over it before signing it." He dug into his cereal, looking at her expectantly. He knew she was going to ask what it was all about. He nodded at the paperwork lying on the counter in front of him.

"Lawyer? For what? We've already worked everything out, haven't we?" She sounded more alarmed than she wanted. The idea that Danny somehow regretted the plan they'd put into motion was unsettling to her.

"Yeah we have… but…" He trailed off, setting his spoon down. "It's not about any of that… it's about… me." He stopped, fully aware that his reply did nothing to answer her question. This was turning out to be harder than he'd thought. "It's a will Mindy."

Her eyes widened, and she rounded the island they were both standing at. "A will? Are you dying? Why didn't you tell me? You were just yelling at me a couple of weeks ago because I didn't tell you I had a headache, and now you're dying? And you tell me this way?" She pushed at him. "How could you Danny?" She was trying to shove him out of the way, to get to the paperwork lying in front of him.

He took her by the arms, looking her in the face, a small smirk peeking through. "Min, I'm fine. It's just planning ahead, just in case."

Her shoulders slumped as she stared off into space. Just in case. Just in case? Just in case what? Just in case he was hit by a bus on the way to work? Just in case some overly enthusiastic mugger got stab happy? Just in case he slipped on a banana peel and whacked his head on the tile? She felt dizzy.

She didn't want to think about it. She knew New York City could be a dangerous place. She knew the world itself was a dangerous place, but she'd been content her whole life to assign that dangerous world to the things-that-happen-to-other-people category.

It was suddenly hard to breath, her mouth worked, but she didn't seem to be able to make her diaphragm do its job. She shook her head in an attempt to clear it. "B-but that's so…" She knew it was logical. She knew it was smart. She hated it. "…pessimistic." She felt tears at the back of her eyes. What the hell? Stupid hormones. This entire conversation should be going differently. She should commend him. She should rudely inquire into his finances. She should ask if he has any secret accounts in the Caiman Islands. She should do the same thing, make her own will.

She couldn't do any of these things, because all she could think about was the fact that someday he might not be around. He could die unexpectedly, at any freaking moment. She felt cheated, even though nothing had even happened.

She backed away from the counter, turning away from him to compose herself. Ok, this was fine. She took a deep breath. It really was the hormones. She'd been a blubbering mess over lots of things lately. Tamra had eaten all of the red gummy bears out of the bowl at the secretary's desk and she'd dissolved into tears for five minutes. Every time that Sarah McLachlan commercial about animal abuse came on she was useless for a good thirty minutes. That's all this was.

She let out her breath, blinking slowly. Ok, this is fine. She cleared her throat, turning back to him, picking up the paperwork off the counter. She pretended to go through it. "I'm not going to have to fight off any other baby mamas for the inheritance am I? No mistresses holed up in Queens that I should know about?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Everything's taken care of. You won't even have to meet my other secret family."

She whacked him again, hard this time. Narrowing her eyes, she said, "Watch yourself, Castellano."

He picked up his paperwork and put his bowl in the sink. "I have to get going. See you at the office." He stopped at the door before leaving. "Oh, and Min, I will find that secret stash of orange slices." He was out the door before she could say anything. Mindy stared after him, still reeling a little from the thought of losing him. She sighed. There was no use dwelling on it.

She picked up her banana peel and walked over to the trash can, carefully dropping it in. She wasn't going to dwell on it, but she was taking any chances either.


	7. Chapter 7

CH7

**A/N: Here's another chapter. I hope the pacing isn't too slow. I think I'm going to write a quick one-shot before I post the next chapter of this one. (I got a smut prompt on tumblr so ;) - emoji porn intended). Anway, please please feel free to leave reviews on here. I really love them, like, so much, and they help. :D Enjoy!**

Mindy looked down at her blouse. It was the black one she never wore. The one that was always stuck at the back of her closet. She felt a cool string of pearls slide against her neck as she shifted her gaze forward. An overwhelming sensation of dejá vu attacked her. She looked around her, feeling the panic rise as it had so many times before. Not again. Her breaths were coming short and shallow now.

Her surroundings were totally foreign, yet completely familiar. She didn't recognize this place, but somehow felt she'd been here dozens of times. She was in a lawyer's office sitting across from a strange weedy man in a tweed suit. The walls and carpet were gray, exactly like the sky outside the windows.

"Dr. Lahiri, did you hear me?"

She snapped her attention back to the man sitting in front of her. He looked to be in his mid-fifties, balding with bushy gray eyebrows that matched his surroundings. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, your… friend left everything he owned to you and your son."

She swallowed. No, no, no. Stop it. "My friend?" The words coming out of her mouth had no connection with her brain. Stop it. Stop talking, you mean old bald man. "Do you mean Danny?" She had no control over her speech. She was screaming now, in her head anyway. No. No. This isn't real, Mindy. Stop it. You can stop it. Just get up and leave.

Her hand rose to her face, sweeping aside a strand of hair seemingly of its own volition. She'd read about a coma patient once, a man who'd been in a coma for ten years before finally coming out of it. He'd described being locked in his own body, still able to feel, to hear, to see even, but not communicate or even move a millimeter. Mindy was locked in. She was racked with sobs, the cries ringing in her ears, but outwardly she was serene.

The man in the tweed suit shifted uncomfortably, picking up the paper in front of him, looking at it through the bottom of his bifocals. "Yes, Dr. Castellano, I believe."

Her inner sobbing reached new gut wrenching levels, pulling her apart from the inside out. "Yes, that's my… friend, Danny." She said it so calmly.

The man across from her relaxed noticeably. "I just need you to sign this, and it'll all be taken care of."

No. She desperately pled with her body to obey her. She wanted to get up and run. To get out of the gray room, to get away from the man in tweed. She willed the muscles in her legs to follow her commands. Instead she felt her hand reach out and grasp the pen, signing the paper in broad sweeping strokes.

The moment the pen left the paper the room around her dissolved, transforming just as she knew it would into a cold and dimly lit hospital room. And there he was, just as she knew he would be, lying motionless on the narrow bed.

She felt a cold hand settle on her shoulder. It was a dour faced pale man clad in a white lab coat. "It's time."

She was back in control of her body now. She shook her head, her face crumpling up, a strangled sob escaping her lips. "No."

The doctor's fingers dug into her shoulder painfully, whispering coldly into her ear. "Don't be selfish, Mindy. This is what he wants."

She felt the icy fingers release her and she doubled over sobbing. She slipped into the floor on her knees, trying to grab at the white coat in front of her. "Just give me some time, please!"

He was already on the way out, slipping from her grasp, when he turned back. "Ten minutes, Dr. Lahiri. Ten minutes." Then he disappeared.

She pulled herself back to her feet and rushed to the bed, coming up short inches away from the edge of it. She looked down at him. His arms were straight at his sides, his hands palm up in some sort of final supplication. She felt her throat close up and the tears began to pour from her eyes once again.

She reached out and took his hand in hers as she climbed into the tiny hospital bed. She put her head on his shoulder, interlacing her fingers with his. She could hear his heart beating still, could feel the warmth on his skin. "Don't leave us. Don't leave me."

She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the end to come like it always did, yearning for the nightmare to be over. She opened her eyes again. This time she was surrounded by half a dozen fluffy down pillows, one of which she was clutching desperately to her chest. A sheen of sweat slicked her forehead, chilling her.

This was one side-affect to pregnancy that she wouldn't miss. The horrendously vivid dreams that accosted her were so jarring sometimes. This one in particular was awful. She'd had the dream at least once a week since Danny had told her about the will. Even though she knew it was a dream, she was unable to detach herself from the emotions it inspired in her. She flipped over on her back, placing one hand over her face while the other one rested on her stomach.

She continued to cry softly, still swept up in the acute feeling of loss. It always took her a good ten minutes to extract herself from the grief that enveloped her during the dream.

She made little circles over her stomach. She'd begun to show significantly in the past few weeks, enough that strangers stopped and asked her questions cautiously curious questions. On the one hand, it was a gross violation of personal boundaries, but on the other hand she reveled in the attention.

She continued to hiccup softly with one hand still covering her eyes, drawing comfort from the swell under her night shirt reminding her things were not like in the dream.

* * *

Danny shrugged his coat off, tossing it on the peg. Exhaustion pulled at him. Tonight had been draining. He'd spent a good deal of time in the OR after a caesarian with complications had taken a turn for the worst. The mother had begun hemorrhaging shortly after post-op began. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

Danny went to his kitchen and poured himself two fingers of scotch, downing it in one huge gulp. He sighed, the burning liquid hitting the back of his throat a reminder that he was done with that part of his day. Normally, after getting home from a particularly rough day, he could leave all of the stress behind at the hospital. It had always been easy for him to push the mental strain of hard deliveries to the backburner once he crossed the threshold to his home, but tonight his mind was still spinning, replaying every little thing that had happened. He kept seeing the look of worry on Mr. Peter's face as they ushered him out of the delivery room.

It's not like he hadn't had difficult patients before, or that he'd never been thrown into dire medical situations. He just couldn't stop thinking about Mindy. He leaned forward on the counter and put his head in his hands.

Mindy. He was so far gone it wasn't even funny. They fought on a daily basis. Somewhere along the way she had decided it was a sign from the universe that they hadn't been able to tell the sex of the baby, and that she wanted it to be a surprise. She wouldn't budge, no matter how much he tried to coax her to do another ultrasound.

So he caved, and she continued to pester him with names from her favorite books and movies. When he'd finally had enough of the _Hunger Games _references she'd moved on to random words. "Danny, Gwenyth named her daughter Apple. Isn't that cute. We could name a boy something like Melon. Or we could go the Jason Lee route and get really crazy. He named his son Pilot Inspektor. I'm liking the word Astronaut."

He hadn't even deigned to respond to those. He could tell she was just messing with him. Funny thing was, he didn't mind it at all. He found himself smiling at her so often lately, that he couldn't remember a time when he'd genuinely been annoyed by their arguments.

And then there was the food. Grocery shopping with her was a nightmare. She was eternally distracted by gimmicky products and over-processed sugary snacks. If someone had told Danny a year ago his fridge would have a drawer dedicated to gogurt, or that he would even know what gogurt was, he would have laughed. He'd asked, "Why can't we just buy normal yogurt?" only to be told, "Duh, it's not in a tube."

And then there were the orange slices. Those damn orange slices. They'd argued in the store about them. Danny did all of the grocery shopping mostly because he did all the cooking, but sometimes Mindy got antsy and came with him.

When she'd put them in the cart he'd eyed them incredulously before flat out saying, "Nope, absolutely not. Those are not coming in my house. They are nothing but sugar. You might as well just take a spoon and eat it straight out of the bag."

She'd pouted and began waxing poetic about the flavor nuances of the little sugar dipped gelatin globs molded into the shape of orange segments. He'd given up. He could tell it was something she was craving, and he knew that you had to pick your battles with pregnant women. He'd looked the other way when she had sneakily put them back in the basket.

He'd pretended to be annoyed by it, but honestly he thought her effort to hide them from him was cute, and when he'd happened up on her hiding place by accident, he'd merely smiled and shoved them even further back in the pantry.

Mindy was carving out a place here with him. In the past he'd thought about her frequently throughout his day, but it was nothing like this constant stream of Mindy thoughts. Every time something noteworthy happened to him during his day, he found himself filing it away to tell her later over dinner or while they watched tv.

He never knew it could be so easy to live with someone, and he never would have guessed Mindy would be such a pleasant roommate. It was enjoyable to have someone there at the end of the day, to be able to chat about things and watch TV with. It wasn't what he'd expected. He'd thought she would drive him to distraction and that he'd end up spending a lot of extra time at the office in the evening, but instead he found himself meeting her at the elevator promptly at five almost every day, looking forward to arguing over whether or not they should watch _Teen Mom._ Danny's vote was always no.

Even though Danny believed he'd loved her for a long time, and in truth there was still a part of him that believed it, he was beginning to realize he'd only scraped the surface of his affection for her. He felt like the Grinch at the end of the story. His heart had grown three sizes to accommodate the love he felt for her, because in truth he'd never felt this way about anyone, and it overwhelmed him sometimes, especially when it affected his work.

Every time he had a patient with problems, he would immediately see Mindy's face, and instantly add that to his new list of worries. He'd even gone so far as to beg anyone who would listen to agree to let him in the OR if any complications arose. It was to no avail. The hospital has strict policies in place, and there was a distinct conflict of interest. He understood why it was like that, logically, but it frustrated the hell out of him.

Tonight had been so bad, really the worst in a long long time. Mrs. Peters had almost died from a sudden drop in blood pressure before they found the tear. It was so rare these days to have such a touch and go situation, it really shook Danny up.

He shuddered, and tried again to pull himself out of the worrisome thoughts. He really needed to go to bed. He hadn't even felt like getting dressed after surgery, instead choosing to slip on a clean set of sweats left in his locker before trudging home.

He flicked off the light in the kitchen and walked toward his bedroom, trying not to do the thing he did most nights lately. He couldn't help it though, his steps changed direction and he found himself in front of Mindy's door. He would just peek in, like always, just to make sure she was fine. She was a fitful dreamer sometimes, and he felt compelled to check on her.

He gently pushed the door open, stopping abruptly after an inch when he heard muffled crying. The worry he'd just barely been able to subdue sprang back to life. He swung the door all the way open and was kneeling beside the bed in a matter of seconds. "Mindy?"

* * *

Mindy uncovered her eyes and looked through her tears. Had she conjured Danny by thinking about him too much? He was kneeling beside her bed, looking fearsomely worried. Her dreams had been so vivid lately that she was hard pressed to know if this was real or not, but she couldn't take the surge of relief that coursed through her when she saw his face. She let out a little hiccupping sob as she sat up reaching for him.

He didn't hesitate, climbing up into the bed with her, allowing her arms to encircle his neck as he sat on the edge. She breathed him in for a second, relishing the solid feel of him against her. Finally satisfied that she wasn't dreaming, she reluctantly let him go.

He was still looking at her like she might break. "Dream?"

She nodded. The worst part about the nights when she had _the_ dream was that she knew the second she closed her eyes it would replay. It was a vicious cycle that she'd been unable to find a way out of. She looked at Danny. "Can you… stay with me… for a little?"

He nodded, tossing some of her pillows in the floor to make room as she scooted over. "You have enough pillows for ten people."

She laughed. "It's kind of hard to get comfortable lately. My normal sleeping positions don't seem to work. It's weird, because I'm by no means huge, and I'm going to get much bigger than this. I guess I just feel off center. Not that it would matter if I could sleep, I have to get up and pee a dozen times every night."

They were laying side by side, like middleschoolers at a sleep over, each one staring at the ceiling as they talked. Even though they were fairly domestic with each other, this was the closest Danny had been to her in a long time. His brain was still full of the possible complications associated with having a child, and suddenly he felt fiercely protective of her.

He sat up, snagging two of the pillows he'd tossed in the floor beside the bed. "Here, let me try something." He reached across to her other side and tucked the pillow in beside her. "Turn over on your side with you back facing me, your belly resting on the pillow." He took the other one and put it in front of her too. "And sort of hug this one."

As she did what he said, he moved up behind her, effectively spooning her, slipping one arm beneath the pillow she rested her head on and the other across her abdomen.

She sighed in contentment. Yes, she was more comfortable than usual, but it was more than that. When they were like this she could delude herself into thinking they were together, that they were this little family. She quickly began to drift off to sleep, only absentmindedly noting the feel of Danny's fingers as they splayed out across her stomach and the tickle of his breath on her neck.

Hours later, Mind woke unexpectedly. She felt a flutter inside of her. Was it the child? She was just past that time when you were supposed to begin to feel movement, but she knew sometimes it took longer for some people. It was like a little butterfly faintly fluttering inside of her, and it was gone as soon as she realized it. She'd described it so many times to expectant mothers, but those were just words, this was indescribable.

Danny's arms were still around her, his hand still pressed against her navel, his chest providing a wall of support behind her. Somehow one of his legs had gotten tucked between her knees, relieving her lower back from uncomfortable pressure. She closed her eyes, a strange sense of peace floating through her.

For the first time in a long time she allowed herself to feel dependent on someone. In the past it had been a mark of weakness to her, and she prided herself in being fiercely self-reliant. But there was something about letting go, if only for a moment, and knowing that if she ever really needed him, Danny would be there.

She felt the movement again, this time it sent a giddy shiver up her spine and she could stop the grin that spread across her face. She felt Danny shift slightly behind her, his hand slipping down further, almost too far. She nudged him with her elbow. "Danny."

She was whispering, although she didn't really know why. If she wanted to wake him up, she could just speak normally. She was about to close her eyes and resume drifting when she felt his breathing pattern shift against her ear. "Mindy?"

His voice was gravelly with sleep, coming out in a hoarse whisper. He sounded somewhat confused and she felt his arms tense slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"Everything's fine." Still whispering, she felt him relax again. His physical manifestation of worry sent a strange warmth tingling out in her limbs and made it momentarily hard for her to speak, her throat tightening. She swallowed. "I felt him."

He was alert now, his head raised somewhat from the pillow, in a useless attempt to see more of her. "You did?" The hand, hovering dangerously low on her abdomen shifted upward again, sliding on the silk of her night shirt in a circular pattern.

Mindy laughed. "You can't feel anything yet."

Danny felt warmth in his ears and was grateful for the darkness. "I know that. You're not the only OB here." His words came out gruffly, a little defensive, but he couldn't maintain the pretense of annoyance. "Is this… the first time you've noticed?"

She nodded. "Yeah, and I was getting a little worried that I hadn't felt anything yet. I mean, I'm at 22 weeks, and a lot of people feel it at 16 or 18." She felt sheepish admitting her concern.

"Min, you probably just thought it was something else, like indigestion, or gas."

"Ugh, Danny, don't suggest that I would mistake our child for a gas bubble. The very idea…" She feigned indignity. She smiled though. His attempt to reassure her was amusing. "Although, I have been eating a lot of Mexican food lately…"

Danny chuckled. "You don't have to tell me how much Mexican food you've been eating. Believe me, I'm aware."

"God, Danny. Leave it to you to totally demystify this Lifetime movie moment we just had. And by the way, you acknowledging the fact that I've been gassy lately is NOT a gentlemanly thing to do. I mean, I know it, and you know it, but like _Legally Blonde 2_, we're going to pretend it never happened." She sighed out the last words, beginning to feel drowsy again.

He continued to laugh. "I never said I was a gentleman."

Mindy, on the verge of falling asleep again, continued quietly. "But you are, you know."

Danny swallowed. Why was she doing this to him? Her voice got all quiet and soft, and suddenly he couldn't think. All he wanted to do was dive in. He just didn't have it in him to fully expose himself. He made a throat clearing noise and searched for something to say that would lighten the mood. Nothing came. "Thanks."

Mindy yawned. Encompassed in Danny's arms, she was in an envelope of warmth. She felt as though warm honey had been poured down her throat and had spread out through all of her limbs. She drifted off and was softly snoring in a matter of minutes. She didn't hear the quiet words Danny spoke in her ear once she was safely unconscious.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Ooh, sorry it took so long to post this chapter. I've been a little blocked with this story. I see this chapter as a bit of a transitional one, I hope you like it still. And i'm kind of proud of myself for actually sticking to the outline. Although that means it looks like there's a lot more to go so... :D... as always please feel free to leave comments about whatever you want. I appreciate anyone who takes the time to tell me something, and I do read every single one of them, multiple times. Enjoy.**

CH8

"Mindy, when are you going to open your eyes?" Gwen posed the question casually as they were lounging on the couch eating sugar cookies and watching some god awful cartoon that Riley loved.

"What?"

"Seriously, Mindy. You have everything you've ever wanted, but you can't even see it."

Mindy frowned, still not able to formulate an answer for her best friend. Gwen sighed loudly, reaching over to flick the channel over to something more adult. Riley whined but accepted it and turned her attention to her aunt Mindy.

She hopped up on the couch next to her, grabbing one of the cookies off the plate. She nibbled on it thoughtfully, her eyes never leaving Mindy's midsection. "Is that a baby?"

Mindy, unsure of how to approach this line of questions merely nodded at the child beside her. Encouraged, Riley continued. "Mommy says you get a baby in your tummy when you fall in love and get married. Did you get married, Aunt Mindy? Why didn't I get to be the flower girl?"

Mindy's eyes widened, she looked to Gwen, begging her to intervene. Gwen laughed. "Mindy, you're an OBGYN, you should be equipped to deal with this line of questioning."

"Not with a five year old, Gwen. What do you want me to do here? Storks or cabbage patches?" She gestured to her stomach. "Because clearly neither of those things explain this."

Riley, miffed by the adults clearly ignoring her, piped up again. "Did an alien put a baby in you? I watched a movie with daddy where that happened. Are you gonna have an alien?"

Gwen pursed her lips, getting up off the couch. "Carl!" She called out. Carl, hiding in his man cave didn't here her. She huffed out an angry breath as she marched through the house. "Carl!"

Mindy fought the urge to laugh as she heard Gwen's shouts echo through the house. "You let her watch what?"

Things got quiet for a minute and Mindy turned her attention back to the impossibly blonde child in front of her. Ugh, Gwen and her good genes. Before she could say anything Riley asked again. "Do you love the alien that gave you the baby? Cause mommy says you only get a baby when you love someone."

Mindy frowned. "Well, that's not entirely true, sometimes you get a baby from someone you don't love. They could be someone you just think has a really nice butt, or maybe someone who plays the drums in a band you like." Oh shit. Not a good way to explain this to a five year old. She cleared her throat. "But, um, yeah. I think I do love the short angry alien that gave me this baby. I think I've loved him for a long time, I just didn't know it."

Riley made a face. "How can you love an alien?"

Mindy smiled. "I'm as surprised as you are."

* * *

It was 8 am. The whole day stretched out before Danny, an uninterrupted opportunity to relax. Mindy had gone to visit Gwen for the day, and he fully intended to enjoy himself, watching all of the sports things he'd DVR'd in the past month and completing the Saturday New York Times crossword. It was going to be a good day.

Two hours later, crossword completed, baseball game on the screen, Danny was bored. Well, not exactly bored. He heaved a frustrated sigh and levered himself up off the couch. He was permeated by a sense of restlessness. Was there something he was supposed to be doing that he wasn't? For the life of him he couldn't figure out what it was.

He picked up the mess he'd made on the couch, neatly stacking his magazines on the end of the coffee table and collecting the dishes from his breakfast. After he'd picked up the living area, he was stuck again, feeling like there was something else he should be doing.

He headed back to his bedroom, deciding that maybe he should just get dressed and go run the errands he normally did on the weekend. As he strode past Mindy's room he glanced in. The door was open, like always.

He sighed. The sight of her room was disturbing. Pillows tossed to the floor, clothing draped across every available surface, an array of shoes positioned like landmines across the floor. Mindy was a messy person, crazy messy, but Danny had been impresses by her ability to contain it within the confines of her bedroom. When she'd moved in, he'd fully expected there to be a couple loud arguments over it, but it was as though she respected his need for order too much to let it creep into the common area.

He shut the door, blocking out the disastrous scene before him and continued on to his bedroom. He got dressed quickly, intending to do some grocery shopping and maybe go to the gym later. He exited his bedroom, but is eyes were immediately drawn to Mindy's door. Even though he'd closed it, he couldn't stop thinking about the mess hiding behind it.

He sighed, dropping his messenger bag on the couch. There was a part of Danny that had always been a bit of a neat freak. He garnered satisfaction from knowing that things had a place, that there was some sort of order in his home. As a child his mother never had to tell him to clean his room, his action figures neatly lined up on the windowsill, his shoes neatly lined up at the foot of his bed. His mother had always enlisted his help when cleaning the small house they'd lived in. He enjoyed it, but until today, he'd never had the urge to step in and clean up after Mindy. There was just this persistent little irritation in the back of his mind, knowing what lay beyond her bedroom door.

He pushed her door open again, telling himself he would only straighten up a little. An hour later he was still at work. He was astonished at the amount of clothing she owned. Thinking back, he shouldn't have been surprised. He hardly ever saw her wear the same thing twice. Not knowing where much of it actually went, he ended up setting neat little piles of folded clothing on her dresser and lining up her array of shoes in the bottom of her closet.

Finally, having attending to the hurricane of random object lying in her floor, he turned his attention to the bed. Looking at it he felt a little bloom of warmth in his chest. He could still feel the way she'd settled in his arms when she'd drifted into unconsciousness. That had been weeks ago, and there hadn't been a repeat of the event, but Danny thought about it every night, still popping his head into her room to check on her before he went to his own bed. She seemed to be sleeping soundly these days.

He tossed the rest of her pillows to the floor where they joined their mates before reaching across the bed to collect the linens. Twisted up in the sheets was an article of clothing he'd apparently missed. He shook the blanket out, expecting some silken thing to float out. Instead he was greet with the site of one of his sweatshirts flopping on the mattress.

He frowned, picking it up and shaking it out. Why did Mindy have his sweater? She obviously had plenty of her own clothing to choose from. Had she gotten cold? He picked it up and looked at it. It was the one he'd been wearing the night he'd stayed in here with her, and he knew he hadn't taken it off, and he certainly hadn't seen it since that night.

He shook his head, clearing the momentary curiosity and getting back to the task at hand. Ten minutes later he walked out of her room, the sweater slung over his shoulder, a sense of satisfaction pervading him. He'd deal with Mindy's consternation over him being in her room later. He smiled to himself. It really was her room and not some generic guest room. She'd toted her things in here and set to work making the place her own. It had eased some of the insecurity Danny felt about the situation they found themselves in.

As he was headed for the door once again, the sound of his phone trilling stopped him. When Mindy had seen the landline she'd laughed. "Danny, 1999 called, it wants its phone back." The unit even had a little answering machine attached. He paused, waiting for the machine to get it before he walked out the door, just in case it was Mindy calling for some reason.

After five rings the machine picked up, and he heard his own voice echo across the apartment.

_You've reached Dr. Daniel Castellano—_

_And Dr. Mindy Lahiri, well sometimes anyway._

_Min, you said you wouldn't, this is the fourth time._

_Sorry, 'Daniel' I'm a popular lady, people need to know where they can reach me._

He heard himself sigh on the recording. _Well, I'm not doing it again. Whoever's calling, leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can._

_Or I will._

He'd pretended to be annoyed with her over the answering machine thing, but in all honestly his heart did a little flip every time he heard it.

The beep sounded and the familiar voice of his real estate agent fell on his ears. _Hi, Mindy, this is Trish. You haven't answered your cell today, and I just wanted to let you know I've found a couple interested in your place, they've actually made an offer. So if you'll get back to me as soon as you can, that would be fantastic. Also, and this is perfect timing, there's a place on the Upper East Side that meets all of your 'requirements' and I just think you'll love it. Mariska Hargitay may have even stayed there once. Call me_

Danny's stomach dropped to his toes. Mindy had called Trish? She was actively looking for her own place? He was stunned. She hadn't said a word about it. Of course, they had talked about getting two places all along, and he knew this was going to happen, but he'd always thought he'd have more time.

And why hadn't she said anything? He felt his hands curl tightly around the strap of his messenger bag. He spun on his heel, slamming the door behind him as he strode to the elevator.

* * *

Her feet hurt. Her back ached. All she wanted was a very very large mug of hot chocolate and two or three hours in front of the tv marathonning some Real Housewives. She loved Gwen, and loved spending time with her and her little mini-me Riley, but she was totally exhausted. "Heavy with Child" was an understatement. Mindy felt like she'd ballooned in size in the past couple of weeks, and was sure she walked distinctly in a waddling fashion. Her feet always hurt these days.

She tossed her keys on the table by the door and made her way over to the couch, the comfy cushions beckoning to her. She plopped down on the couch, propping her feet up on the coffee table as she called out into the apartment. "Danny, can we watch Real Housewives tonight? I need to relax, and some good hair pulling/ name calling/ cattiness is just what the doctor ordered."

She waited, and waited. She frowned. Danny hadn't told her anything about not being home this evening. She glanced at the time on her phone. 8:00. Where the hell was he? Yeah, it was a Saturday, but in the past three months Danny had went out exactly zero times. She got up to search the apartment for him.

"Danny? What the heck are you doing?" She walked over to his bedroom door, pressing her ear up against the cool wood. She was only beginning to realize how quiet the place was, her own breathing harsh on her ears. She cautiously pushed his door open, poking her head inside.

Danny's room was empty, his bed neatly made, the coverlet tucked under the mattress in typical Danny fashion. Figures he would spend the time making his bed with hospital corners when he literally came home and tore it apart every night. Mindy snorted. She shrugged, shutting his door behind her as she walked away.

She told herself she wasn't annoyed. Danny was allowed to have a life of his own. He didn't have to check in with her, or ask her permission for anything. She paused on her way back to the couch. Suddenly she didn't feel like watching TV anymore. She changed direction and went back to her bedroom, ready to just go to bed.

A wave of confusion hit her when she opened the door. For a moment she thought her stuff was missing, but when she looked more closely she noticed her things meticulously stacked on her dresser, and then she saw her bed, sporting those ridiculous hospital corners.

She felt a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. She could just see Danny trying to figure out where all of her stuff went, carefully hanging her bras on the hooks on the back of her closet door. She was honestly surprised it had taken him this long to barge in here and clean up. She took two steps into the room before a horrifying thought crossed her mind. Her eyes widened. Oh god, had Danny found his sweater?

She wondered briefly if maybe that's why he was gone tonight. She took a deep breath, trying not to freak out. Danny couldn't know why she had the article of clothing. She barely knew why herself.

Maybe it was because she'd slept so soundly with him at her side, or maybe it was because the repetitive dream hadn't returned like she'd expected to. Either way, she'd found herself snooping through Danny's room after he'd left for his morning jog. She hadn't exactly known what she was looking for, but when her gaze had settled on the sweater laid across the chair in the corner, she'd been drawn to it.

Only lightly worn, it mostly smelled like Danny's detergent, but there was also the familiar note of his aftershave along the collar, and some other fresh clean smell that she only associated with him. He'd said it was his deodorant, but she suspected it was cologne of some sort.

Since then she'd been sleeping with it, like some child clutching desperately to a security blanket. She'd felt so silly the first night, but the dream hadn't come then or any night since, and now she wasn't willing to chance it coming back. She tucked it under her pillow every morning before she got up.

But he'd gone and made her bed and the sweater was nowhere to be found. She hurried rushed back to his room, this time flinging the door wide open. She quickly glanced around. There wasn't a single article of clothing lying anywhere. Why the hell did he have to be so neat all the time?

She flipped the lid of his laundry hamper up, peering in. Empty. Today must have been laundry day or something. She flung the doors to his closet open and saw the sweater hanging in the front, freshly washed.

She snatched it off the hanger, instinctively pulling it to her nose and inhaling. It only smelled like his laundry soap. She felt disappointment course through her. It was so silly, but she just knew it wouldn't be the same. She carefully put it back on the hanger and returned it to its place.

* * *

Danny was fuming. He was at the office. He didn't want to be at the office. He wanted to be home. He wanted to be with Mindy, sitting on the couch, sighing grandiosely over her choice of evening television. He didn't want to be here pretending to do paperwork. He didn't want to be sitting and brooding over the fact that she'd gone ahead with their plans. _Their_ plans. He'd agreed to it, hadn't he? Suggested it even, but it still irked the hell out of him.

He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was past ten, surely she'd be home by now, probably even in bed. Maybe she'd listened to the message and called Trish back. Maybe she'd scheduled a walk-through of the new place on the Upper East Side. Maybe she was days away from moving into some deluxe apartment. Danny wadded up the paper in front of him and angrily tossed it in the waste basket.

He snorted. The Upper East Side? Of course that's where Trish found a place for her. Mindy had probably given her this ridiculously long list of specifications relating to luxury that could only be met by a place in the city's most affluent neighborhood. She probably wanted walk in closets and a private movie theater where she could watch all of her stupid romantic comedies in the utmost luxury.

Danny snapped out of his thoughts when he realized he was grinding his teeth, the muscles in his jaw working overtime. He wasn't mad at Mindy, not at all. Well, maybe a little, more like annoyed. He didn't really know why she hadn't told him about contacting Trish, but that seemed like a minor thing. Why would she tell him she had done something they'd already talked about? There was even a chance that it slipped her mind.

That wasn't the thing that had him clenching his jaw, and fidgeting with his paperwork. He was angry with himself. He'd become so attached to her it scared him sometimes. He worried about her wellbeing a lot, that was true, and she even noted it frequently. She assumed he was merely concerned over the child, and he was, but she held a special place in his heart these days. He couldn't bear the thought of her going off to live a life separate from his own.

And that's what he was angry about. It wasn't fair at all. Here he was, totally head over heels in love with her, and she was clueless. She couldn't be entirely blamed for her obliviousness. He hadn't helped matters, telling her exactly nothing about the way he felt.

Every time he felt the words bubbling up, he made an effort to push them back down. He knew how Mindy's mind worked. It would be the same as when he'd asked her to marry him. She would assume he was doing it because of their situation. The worst part was he couldn't deny that it was a big part of why he felt the way he did.

Sure, he'd always felt something for her. In the past he hadn't known what it was, hadn't cared to explore it because it scared him. The few times he'd even wanted to make a move she'd been unavailable, off limits even, so he'd pushed it back down.

And that night he'd spent with her, that night of passion mixed with desperation, well that had been the dam breaking. He'd been flooded with the feeling that he needed her, and was severely disappointed when she'd decided to put their relationship back on its old footing. But now, well now it was different.

Sometimes, after a long day at work, when they were sitting on the couch, her feet resting in his lap, the tv on some show they'd finally agreed on, he felt like his life had finally come together. He could almost pretend he'd finally found the family he'd always been looking for. This whole baby thing had opened up an entirely new world of possibilities.

There were times when he thought, briefly, that she might be experiencing the same feelings. No more so than the night she'd had the nightmare. She'd clung to his neck so desperately when he'd rushed to her side. He'd felt needed for the first time in a long while. Then she'd asked him to stay, and he'd died a thousand tiny deaths curled up beside her.

But now he had no idea what it all meant to her. With each passing day it was like they were drawing closer and closer to some sort of deadline. Not just when the child would be born, but also when some sort of definitive statement about their relationship needed to be made.

He had to tell her, and soon. This all had to be settled before a child came into their lives. He didn't want their relationship to be any more tumultuous than it had to be. If she didn't want the things he did, then so be it, he could push it back down. He was good at pushing things down where he didn't have to look at them. It didn't mean they went away, but he could deal with that.

He pushed himself away from his desk, grabbing his thing and heading home. He'd deal with this, just not tonight.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I promise this story won't just be ENDLESS pining. I have a end plan, although I've digressed a bit from the outline i wrote in the interest of keeping the tone I've already set forth (and also finishing this thing :D) As always, please leave reviews or comments if you so feel inclined. I adore them, and they give me something to look forward to while I'm at work.**

CH9

Peter eyed Mindy suspiciously across the office, taking a sip of coffee as he contemplated what Betsy had told him. "They're still saying that? Why?"

Betsy shook her head sadly. "I think they believe it."

Peter snorted, rolling his eyes dramatically. "Puh-lease. Will you look at that?" He gestured at Danny standing by the nurse's station. "He's doing it again."

Betsy frowned in confusion, surreptitiously looking in Danny's direction. "Doing what?"

"Sneaking looks. Doing that lost puppy thing he does. God, are human eyes even supposed to do that? It's disgusting." He took another gulp of his coffee, getting more annoyed. "If what they're saying is true, then why hasn't he been on a single date since this mess began?"

Betsy cocked her head to the side, searching her memory. "Dr. C's never been someone who dates a lot. I don't think he's dated anyone since Christina."

Peter rolled his eyes again, something he found himself doing a lot around Betsy. "Oh Betsy. Sweet, naïve, Betsy. Never change." He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. "When I say 'date' I only mean it in the loosest sense of the word, and by loose I mean looooose."

Betsy wrinkled her nose at Peter's sing-song cadence. "Don't say it like that. It sounds disgusting." She shuffled the paperwork in front of her, sighing deeply. "I wish there was something we could do. I'm pretty sure Dr. L and Dr. C are meant to be together."

Peter nodded. Although he wasn't quite as convinced as Betsy about Danny and Mindy's soul mate status, he was just about fed up with this strange pretense they had going on. He knew, just _knew_, that this whole having a kid together thing was _not _planned. He couldn't be the only one who'd noticed all those months ago when the near constant tension he'd felt every time he'd entered a room with them in it all but disappeared. He'd definitely gotten some no-longer-sexually-frustrated vibes from the both of them.

And then of course, things had gotten super awkward, as was expected with the typical inter-office one night stand, and he supposed things would have eventually gotten back to normal, if Mindy hadn't started coming into the office a nauseated train wreck every morning, Danny jumping to her side every time she got a funny look on her face. Who were they kidding? It was an OBGYN practice after all. Peter ticked off the days until the twelve week mark, when he knew they would announce it to everyone. Duh.

Peter didn't share Betsy's opinion on the matter. Danny and Mindy would be terrible for each other. They'd fight constantly, and probably take it out on the rest of the office when they had a spat. Mindy would spoil the child, undermining all of Danny's many many rules. Then they would fight some more. All that being true, it was much preferable to what was occurring now. These long pining looks from Danny, and these big old dramatic sighs coming from Mindy had to stop. It was driving him up the wall.

"Betsy. You have any hot friends?"

She tapped her chin with her index finger, putting some real thought in to his question. "My cousin, Amelia, lives in Georgia. She's always talking about how hot and humid it is there. Why do you ask?"

He stared at her for a second, shaking his head before he downed the last of his coffee. "That's not exactly what I mean, Bets. Don't worry. I have enough hot friends to go around. We're going to bring this will they/ won't they crap to a close."

He picked up his cell phone, a scheming look on his face as he scrolled through the contacts. "Hello, Angela…. It's Peter… How are you?... I'm great… what? No, I'm not drunk dialing you. It's 9:30 in the morning… What do you mean 'it wouldn't be the first time'? Like you have any room to talk… Look, I have a favor I need to ask you…"

Betsy didn't hear what Peter's plan was, by the time she caught onto what he was doing he had made his way into his office and shut the door.

* * *

"Hey Mindy, I hope you didn't mind me inviting my frat buddy 'Jelly' to your baby shower." Peter sidled up next to her as she was helping Betsy lay out cookies for everyone.

She turned to him, a sour expression on her face. "Do I mind? Yes. Is it too late to do anything about it? Probably. So I'm just going to let it slide this time. But, for future reference, when it comes to any and all parties I'm involved in, there's an unstated rule: NO FRAT BUDDIES. PERIOD." She picked up one of the cookies and took a bite out of it. "Who calls himself 'Jelly' anyway? And why on earth would he want to come to a baby shower? Sounds like a weirdo."

"Dr. L, those cookies are for the guests." Betsy hooked a finger on the tray, sliding it away from Mindy's reach.

She pouted. "I'm the guest of honor, aren't I? Why am I even here right now? You should be doing this yourself." She crossed her arms and sat down in the chair at the head of the table. She hadn't really helped all the much, coming in on the tail end of Betsy's preparations. As a matter of fact, the shower was supposed to start soon anyway. There were people milling around the office. She always thought it was strange how this place could double for social functions after a certain hour.

Mindy was shaken from her thoughts by a very loud voice echoing from the lobby. "Double P, where are you?"

Peter dashed out of the break room, much to Mindy's confusion. The words booming through the office were defiantly being spoken by someone female. Before she could get up and investigate, Peter was dragging a tall brunette into the break room. "Mindy, Betsy, this is Angela. We go way back. She was the first girl to rush my fraternity when it briefly went co-ed that one semester."

Mindy was gaping at the beautiful woman in front of her. "This!? This is Jelly?" She sputtered the words out. The slender woman was wearing break-your-neck heels and a modest yet somehow sexy as hell black wrap dress. "What does that even mean anyway?"

Angela smiled brightly at her, spinning around, singing. "I don't think you ready, for this jelly." She whirled around to face Mindy again. She leaned forward, extending her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Peter's told me so much, I feel like I know you."

Mindy was hesitant to accept the hand offered, this being Peter's friend and all. He had a strange bevvy of friends, and she was more than a little concerned with Peter's reasoning behind inviting her. Did he really think a baby shower was a good venue to lay down some game? She shrugged and took Angela's hand enthusiastically. "Sorry I can't say the same. Peter's told me next to nothing about you, and up until five minutes ago, I thought you were a beer guzzling frat boy with a mommy complex just like him."

"Hey, that's not the case. Who even—"

Mindy cut off his objection. "Peter, your obsession with boobs is borderline disturbing. Mommy complex. Don't argue." She turned back to Angela. "Anyway, you seem nice."

People had begun to trickling into the break room, setting presents down on one table in the corner and greeting Mindy before mingling with each other. Angela turned her attention back to Peter. "So, where's this hot doctor you've told me so much about? The one in desperate need of a hot date? Did you say his name was Danny?"

Mindy's eyes widened, and she was up as fast as her off-center gravity would allow. She hooked Peter's arm in hers and dragged him out of the room. "What the hell are you doing?"

He feigned wide eyed innocence. "What? Danny's had a bit of a dry spell lately, in case you didn't notice. Just trying to do the guy a favor." Mindy reached forward and pinched peter. "Ow! That was unn—"

She cut him off, yet again. "Danny's love life is none of your business." She was seeing red. Somewhere in the back of her mind it occurred to her that this wasn't an appropriate reaction, but she didn't care, barreling past all logic she continued. "So why don't you keep your nose out of it, ok?"

Peter narrowed his eyes, still rubbing the spot where she'd assaulted him. "It's not like it's your business either. You two aren't together, right?" Mindy was silent, her nostrils flaring with each angry exhalation. "Right, Mindy? He's free to date isn't he?"

She hated being put on the spot. She pursed her lips, making an inarticulate grunt. "Argh, alright. Yes. We're not together. Danny's free to date whoever he wants. I hope he meets his future wife in there, and I hope it's your frat buddy 'Jelly' because then Danny and Angela could swill beer and watch baseball together to their heart's content. I bet they'll be so cute together everyone will call them 'Dangela' and maybe they'll name their kids after you, because they'll be so grateful that you introduced them."

In her anger, Mindy hadn't heard the tell tale ding of the elevator, or the soft whooshing sound as the doors slid open. So it was only after Danny indicated his presence by clearing his throat that she noticed him.

She stared at him, her mouth hanging open. His expression was unreadable. Maybe if she'd looked a couple seconds earlier she would have seen the confusion flash across his eyes before the shutters settled down over them, but she didn't.

The rest of the shower was pleasant, if at times a little awkward, and Mindy was miserable. Peter, in utter bliss that his plan seemed to be working, was his usual overly gregarious self. Betsy and Tamra played hostess, making sure everyone had refreshments and joined in on the cute games. Mindy tried to pay attention and behave appreciatively when she opened her gifts, but she couldn't stop her gaze from wandering over to Danny where he sat next to Angela and Peter.

They really did seem to be hitting it off, at least to Mindy anyway. Danny was chatting amiably with her while Mindy analyzed each movement to discern whether or not it could be called flirting. Mindy was surprised at the tenacity with which the green-eyed monster overtook her. She couldn't shake it, and every time Danny glanced in her direction she felt her heart in her throat.

The party ended on a pleasant note, everyone passing around her phone recording messages for her future child to watch at some undecided later date. Peter and Jeremy helped haul all of the presents down to the waiting cab. She settled into her seat as Danny gave the driver directions.

Once the car was in motion he turned to her. "Mindy." Her name. That was all. He wanted her attention, and yet she just continued to stare straight ahead. "Mindy."

Turning to him, she raised her eyebrows. "Oh, are you talking to me? I'd forgotten what that was like." She looked around the interior of the cab in a dramatic manner, as if searching for something. "Oh, that's right. Little Miss Frat Girl isn't here, I guess I'll have to make do with me."

The jealousy was oozing from her very pores, and she felt powerless to stop it so she just stopped talking altogether.

Danny groaned. "What is your deal? You're the one who told Peter it was ok to set us up. Which, by the way, you never consulted me on. I hate setups. And you didn't seem to have a problem completely ignoring me all evening."

She had tried to ignore

him, but only because it stung so much to see him with someone he could potentially date. Somewhere along the line she'd forgotten that Danny wasn't hers to be possessive over. "Sorry. I just… This is complicated, ok? We live together. We work together. We spend most our free time together. It's easy to forget that we're not….. together."

Danny sighed, leaning back into the seat, staring forward. "No, we're not together."

Mindy bit the inside of her cheek, she was suddenly close to tears. "No. We're not together. So you can, you know, date whoever you want."

"Ok."

"Ok."

* * *

Mindy adjusted the collar of her jacket. A balmy spring breeze felt good against the exposed skin at her neck. She leaned forward on the park bench, looking over fondly at the child in front of her. Michael stared back up at her, wide eyed. She felt love swell up in her chest. It was always the same, every time she looked at him. She loved him in a way that overwhelmed her sometimes. She reached forward and nudged the stroller, making it rock a little. This action elicited a bubbly giggle from the baby.

A matching chuckle came from the man seated beside her. She turned slightly, giving Danny a sidelong glance. He smiled at her, that lopsided grin that always set butterflies in motion. "He has your laugh, Min."

She frowned. "You can't tell that yet. I don't sound like a three month old child when I laugh."

He continued to grin. "No, you're right, you don't, but that's not what I meant." He leaned forward and plucked Michael from the stroller, settling the child on his lap. "It's more like the way you laugh, like you're surprised that something is amusing, even though it happens all the time."

Mindy felt her cheeks warm and she smiled shyly. She felt it wash over her. The only thing comparable to the love she felt when she looked at her son was the love she felt when she looked at Danny. She leaned over and dropped a quick peck on his lips. Hands occupied, he followed her retreat with his own mouth, grunting in annoyance when she pulled away.

She threaded her arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder, smiling as she took in the blue sky overhead and the expanse of green grass in front of them. She didn't find it odd that she couldn't recall how they'd gotten here, or that this seemed to be the first memory of her son. She ignored all the signs and happily snuggled into Danny's side under the bright sunlight.

She reopened her eyes, confusion once again overwhelming her when she took in the scene before her. They weren't at the park anymore. It was dark and there were dozens of people pressed in close. The acrid smell of stale smoke caused her nose to wrinkle in disgust. Where the hell was she?

She turned around and was greeted with the familiar sight of the long bar at her favorite pub. People lined up at it, waving their hands trying to get the bartender's attention. She felt a hand on her arm, tugging her in the opposite direction. She looked at the delicate fingers, letting her gaze travel up to their owner. Alex. This was strange. She couldn't remember that last time she'd even spoken to Alex.

"Come on, Mindy. There are two guys over there that are totally giving us come hither looks. Get your ass in gear."

Mindy glanced down, noticing her dress for the first time. Fire engine red, tight as hell, low cut in the front, no baby bump in sight. Definite man-catching paraphernalia. She allowed Alex to pull her over to the men in the corner before she could gather her thoughts.

When she finally came back to herself, she put the brakes on, causing Alex to shoot her a frustrated look. "What about Danny?"

Alex arched an eyebrow. "What about him? Danny and Gabrielle took Michael upstate this weekend, something about camping or a cabin. I forget, who cares? This is the first time in months you've had a weekend free. We need to get our drink on, and we need to end this dry spell of yours."

Mindy's mouth fell open. "Gabrielle?"

Alex stared at her, openly confused. "Gabrielle, Danny's wife. Good lord, Mindy, how many drinks have you had?"

It all came rushing back to her, a barrage of images flickering before her eyes. Danny had met Gabrielle at the coffee shop down the street from the practice. She was a barista there, working her way through med school. They'd sort of clicked instantly, Danny offering to help her "study." Danny later helping Mindy find her own place because Gabrielle wanted to move in with him. The memory of tagging along with him to pick out the engagement ring for "Gabby" was the last thing that flashed before her eyes before she shook herself. "No." The single syllable came out in a strangled gasp.

Mindy felt sick. She extricated herself from Alex's grip and made a beeline for the exit.

"Mindy! Mindy! Where are you going? Come back!"

Ignoring everything but the red exit light over the door, Mindy rudely shoved her way through the crowd, earning several annoyed glances. She didn't care. She could feel the tears pooling in her eyelids, threatening to spill over with each shaky breath she took.

We don't end up together? The question circled in and out of her head as she pushed through the doors. The cold night air hit her in the face. She blinked and tears spilled down her face in a seemingly unending stream. She rushed blindly on, not really knowing where she was going.

It started to rain as she hurried along, the water seeping through her clothes and chilling her to the bone. After what seemed like hours of running through icy puddles, she came to a standstill in front of Danny's building, feeling like a drowned mouse, her teeth chattering in the cold. Alex had said he was upstate, right? He wasn't here.

She ducked in through the lobby, the strange doorman greeting her in a familiar manner, waving as she rushed to the elevator. The ride was short, too short even. She dug in her clutch as the doors whooshed open on Danny's floor.

Pulling out her keys, she inspected them, breathing out a sigh of temporary relief when she saw the familiar key chain still dangling there, still connected to the all-important key. She was in the apartment in a matter of seconds, looking around for some sign that all of this was really happening.

Nothing looked different, and it confused her. If Danny were married to Gabrielle, and they lived together, wouldn't this place look different? She went over to the couch. Her throw pillows were still scattered across it.

She kicked off her wet shoes and made her way across the apartment, heading straight for Danny's room. Surely, if there was one room in this place that would be different, it would be his bedroom. She hesitantly walked up to his door, shivering as water dripped from her hair to her exposed skin.

She couldn't do it. She couldn't push the door open and find out that she wasn't dreaming. She was frozen, standing in front of the door, tears streaming down her face because she'd missed whatever window she'd had. Briefly she thought about moving, the water dripping from her was surely pooling in the floor, ruining the hardwood.

She glanced down at her toes, or at least she tried to, her belly stuck out too far for her to see her feet. Her sleep fogged mind barely registered what that information meant, and it was only when she saw her arms, clad in her familiar flannel pajamas and dry as a bone, that she realized she was finally back to reality. She reached up to her face. It was wet, but only with hot tears. Her hair fell in a wavy curtain around her face, dry as well.

The relief that washed over her was almost overwhelming. She felt her knees go weak and reached out to the doorframe for support. She was still crying, the emotions she'd been feeling still holding her captive.

She knew she should go back to bed, but before she could muster the wherewithal to retreat, the door swung open and she was confronted with a sleep mussed Danny, shirtless and slightly annoyed.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: OH my god! another chapter so soon?! Yes. I hope you like it. It gets a little schmoopy. :D... As always feel free to leave feedback. I adore it an have really appreciated what I've gotten lately. **

The annoyance on his face vanished when he took in her scrunched up face, the tears still sliding down her cheeks. "Mindy?" He reached forward and took her face between his hands, thumbing at the tears rolling downward. "What is it? Are you ok? Is something wrong?"

She was hiccupping now, an annoying hold over from her childhood. She couldn't get the words she need to say out. "I….. I … you…Danny…. the sweater is gone... there was a Gabby… it's all Peter's fault." She ended lamely, punctuating her words with little gasps. She involuntarily lunged forward, throwing her arms around his neck, holding him to her tightly. "I had another bad dream, Danny. I'm sorry, I must have been sleepwalking."

He was speechless. His arms reflexively curled around her, returning her close embrace. "Sleepwalking?"

He felt her nod at his ear. She sniffled. "I've never done that before. This is so weird."

She could feel his heart beating against her chest. Her breaths evened out as she began to calm down, but she didn't loosen her grip. She couldn't shake the feeling of loss she'd been afflicted with mere minutes before. Danny stood quietly, listening to her breathing in his ear, rubbing comforting circles on her felt uncharacteristically vulnerable. She was grateful to have her face buried in his neck. She wasn't sure she could face him, an odd combination of embarrassment and need flooding her. She had no idea what to tell him the dream had been about.

* * *

Danny felt guilty. They'd ridden the elevator in stony silence after arriving home. Each one heading straight for their respective bedrooms. It had been the first night he hadn't stopped by her door to check on her before he went to sleep, and she'd had a terrible dream, one that was bad enough to have her sleepwalking through the apartment. He shuddered at the thought of her heading out into the night like that.

He breathed her in, noting the faint hint of her citrus shampoo before it was overpowered by the lavender lotion she applied nightly. He drew her in closer, aching as her arms slid up around his neck, feeling a catch in his chest as her rounded belly bumped into his abdomen. "Min, what happened? Why are you talking about Peter? What's a Gabby? You need a sweater?" He was awash with confusion.

Her head shifted slightly, her hair softly brushing against his chin. The scent that now permeated so many corners of his living space wafted over him. He inhaled deeply, briefly lost in it. She mumbled something into his shoulder. He strained to hear her. "What?"

She said it louder this time, not moving her head. "Oh, god, I don't even know what's happening. It's like these pregnancy hormones have turned me into this weird nesting bird or something. It's gotten to where I have bad dreams if I don't… well, have, um… something of yours with me."

She trailed off, embarrassed once again. He pulled away from her slowly, looking down at her. His hands still settled on her shoulders, squeezing them slightly. He always loved it when she went barefoot. At this height difference, she tucked right into him. Of course, he loved it when she strutted around in her impossibly high heels, confident as a peacock too, but this was nice. "Well, I only see one solution, especially since I'm not chancing you sleepwalking out into the city."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Right. Give me the sweater back, and I'll be fine." Raising her eyebrows, she affected an expression of innocence.

He ran his hands from her shoulders down the length of her arm, lightly brushing her fingertips before he pulled away. "No." He drew out the single syllable, giving her a knowing look. "That's not exactly what I meant. The sweater thing is just a theory, what if you sleepwalk again anyway? Then what? I'm not chancing you hurting yourself because you're having some weird dreams, and your sleep cycle is all out of whack."

He was insistent, firm even, in his quietly made suggestion, yet the soft expression belied the tone of his words. Mindy felt herself being drawn into his eyes, feeling a little breathless. Her lips parted as she felt the urge to rise up on her toes, to close the space between them, the memory of the soft peck in her dream sending shivers up her spine.

Blinking, she came back to the present. "Danny, you want me to sleep with you?" She intended the question to come out snappily, to break this strange tension between them, but instead it seemed hoarse, echoes of sleep clinging to it.

The air around them was thick, all outward influences suddenly dampened. No ticking clocks or dripping faucets could be heard. She held her breath, overwhelmed by the atmosphere heavy with anticipation. She waited for him to respond. Strangely, she realized it wasn't the first time she'd been caught like this with Danny. Sure, it had happened the night she'd hauled him into her room, desperately pulling at his shirt, tugging his face down to hers, but it had happened before that too. When she'd left for Haiti, and then again at the Christmas party. She'd pushed it to the back of her mind. It had been desire then, but this time it was different. Now it was laden with the aching need to just be with him.

She unconsciously darted her tongue out to swipe at her bottom lip. It was a nervous habit she'd developed in college when confronted with a sudden and pressing urge to make an advance she wasn't sure would be received well.

He saved her the worry of wondering and reached for her, taking her chin gently in his hand, tentatively running his thumb over the same spot her tongue had traced. Mindy felt hypnotized. She knew she should react somehow, but found herself merely staring at him, waiting, lips still parted in anticipation. He laid the gentlest of kisses on her, compelled somehow to be comforting. He pulled away, once again staring down at her.

"Danny, I—"

He cut her off, grabbing her face with his hands once again, capturing her lips with his own. The first kiss a mere shadow compared to the one he laid on her now. She responded enthusiastically trying to absorb the feel of his skin on hers. She clutched at his shoulders, her fingers slipping on his bare skin.

She jumped back, a surprised look on her face, on hand settled on her stomach. "Oh!" She'd felt a fluttering, and not the kind she normally felt when doing some hard core kissing. She looked up at Danny, her eyes wide. "He's kicking." She couldn't help but smile, cocking her head to the side, concentrating on the feeling inside of her, she looked a little perplexed. "Or he has the hiccups?"

Danny raised his eyebrows. Still breathing heavily from their passionate embrace, he stared at her open mouthed. "Really?"

The tone of the question was so openly hopeful and curious, Mindy realized then that what she'd told Riley was true. She loved this alien standing before her. Her chest constricted and she swallowed the lump in her throat, reaching forward to grab his wrist.

She settled his hand over her stomach, pressing it down a little until she found the spot she was looking for. "There…. Feel it? He does it every ten seconds or so. I really do think its hiccups."

Danny was perfectly still. He was astounded by the emotions coursing through him at this moment. He'd thought that seeing the first ultrasound was the most emotionally raw he'd ever been. But this, this was different. Suddenly, what had only been an idea, a picture on the screen, was a little being with a life force. Something that could exert energy and have an effect on the outside world. All he wanted to do was gather Mindy up in his arms and hold her to him, and never let go.

He felt tears in his eyes. Not accustomed to such great displays of emotion, he blew out a deep breath, blinking rapidly. "Wow, Min. That's amazing." The words came out softly, hanging on the air between them. "Does it happen a lot?"

She shook her head. "Not the hiccups. This is a first." She smiled, feeling the wide grin stretch across her face. She couldn't help it. "But… well, he moves around a lot… when we talk."

Danny's gaze darted from his hand to her face in askance. "We? As in you and me? Just you and me?"

She suddenly felt bashful. "Yeah… I, uh." She cleared her throat. "I think it's because you get me all riled up, and my heart beats faster." Her cheeks felt hot, yet she couldn't stop smiling at Danny. Her heart actually picked up its pace, and as if to prove her point, the baby moved under Danny's hand. She let out a short giddy laugh. "See?"

He nodded, unable to say anything. After a few minutes the movement appeared to abate, and they were left standing close to one another, breathing the same air.

Danny broke the spell, loudly clearing his throat and dropping his hand. He drew back slowly, unsure of what they were doing. Their behavior had done a quick one eighty, and he wasn't sure how to proceed. Twisting around, he looked at his room. "Uh, well, there's the bed." He gestured to it, mentally cursing himself. There's the bed? Thanks, Captain Obvious. While you're at it, you might want to inform here where the floor is, and perhaps the walls as well. "Make yourself comfortable…" Struck with a sudden inspiration, he continued. "I'll go get your pillows."

He made a hasty retreat from the room, finding that distance didn't help like he thought it would. He still felt dangerously close to a precipice. He had a feeling in the pit of his stomach, one he'd only felt once as a kid. He'd been on the Ferris wheel on Coney Island, at the very tip top, and it had stopped suddenly, the carriage rocking slightly. His stomach had dropped to his feet, and he'd momentarily forgotten how to breathe. It was the same feeling.

* * *

Arms full of pillows, he stopped briefly before he exited her room, trying to take the time to gather his thoughts.

Why was it so unsettling when he could see the desire in her eyes? He wanted her too. It was something else though. When he'd opened the door to her, he'd seen her raw need, but he couldn't discern exactly what it meant. He still felt in the dark when it came to her. He'd seen the jealousy over Peter's attempt to arrange a date, but she'd agreed they weren't together. He needed to know what she wanted. He hated himself for the cowardly way he approached this situation, but there was this deeply instilled fear. Everything could so easily fall apart. She could leave.

They could have this amazing life together, and right now she seemed so receptive to it, but what if it didn't work out? What if they tried a real relationship and it crashed and burned? There was a child to consider now. He couldn't make his son or daughter endure the pain of bitter parents. If they stayed as they were now, then at least there wouldn't be any real strife between them. There was such a possibility for heartache on the other path.

Excuses. That's all they were. Not a single thought had the ability to diminish the way he felt. None of it made him want to back away. He'd felt himself falling for a long time now. It had started slowly, a slight stumble in her direction, but his speed had increased exponentially until he'd totally lost control. He sighed, resigned to his fate.

* * *

By the time Danny re-entered his room he was feeling more than a little guarded. Mindy had already burrowed under his blankets, totally pulling and twisting them from their neatly tucked in corners. The only light, a small lamp beside the bed, cast a dim glow over one side of the bed, all he could see was her silhouette as she leaned up against his headboard. She was concentrating on something in her hands.

She looked up at him. "Danny, why do you have these books in Spanish? I've never heard you speak it."

He made his way over to her, tucking the pillows in beside and behind her before joining her under the blankets. He reached over, gently taking the book from her hands. Peering at the title he smiled. "Cien Años de Soledad." He said the title, a hint of sadness in his voice. "A Hundred Years of Solitude."

"That sounds so depressing." She felt her chest constrict, reminded that Danny had once endured a very lonely existence.

He smiled. "It is, and then it isn't." He opened it, thumbing through the familiar pages. "Believe it or not, me learning Spanish was just the result of being a horny teenager." She wrinkled her nose, but he continued anyway. "The year after my dad left, I was kind of a pathetic little loser. Sat around feeling sorry for myself a lot. Then, one summer, a Puerto Rican family moved in across the street. They had the most beautiful daughter, and I was instantly infatuated."

Mindy was hanging on his every word, her heart aching for the little boy he'd been. Danny didn't open up very often, and when he did it surprised her into a cautious silence. She kept her mouth shut, hoping that he would continue, and he did. "It was silly. I was fourteen and she was seventeen. That's quite a chasm when you're that young. I would ride my bicycle past their place when she was sitting on the stoop with her sisters. They always chattered away at an impossibly fast speed, fluidly switching back and forth between English and Spanish, and I thought she might give me the time of day if I could just do it too."

He laughed quietly while looking down at the page. "I spent hours every night pouring over a Spanish dictionary I'd found at school, watching the few things on TV in the language. Eventually I started buying Spanish language books. It's funny, I lost interest in Carmen, but I never could put down Marquez."

Mindy scooted down in the bed, her eyes slightly closed. The story Danny laid out before her presented itself in crystal clarity before her eyes. She could see Danny sneaking around, eavesdropping on the pretty neighbor girls. She was lost in the story he was telling, embellishing it with her own imagination here and there. When she realized he'd stopped talking, she opened her eyes again. "Read me something."

Danny cocked his head to the side, staring down at her like she was crazy. "Min, this is a really long book, spanning the lives of seven generations. It's complicated and frequently sad. You don't want me to read this to you."

She turned over on her side, looking up at him. "I saw you had marked passages. It had to have been for a reason. Read me one of those."

Danny swallowed. He didn't have to think twice about what passage he wanted to read her. It had actually crossed his mind a lot lately. He wasn't exactly sure what it meant for them, but he related to it these days. "Uh, I guess. I have a horrible accent, and don't get mad if you get bored."

He flipped straight to it, pretending to choose a marked passage at random and began to read. "Escarbó tan profundamente en los sentimientos de ella, que buscando el interés econtró el amor porque tratando de que ella lot quisiera terminó por querela."

The weight with which Danny spoke the words settled over Mindy. She was sure there was something there, but not knowing what it meant, she remained in ignorance. The atmosphere felt too heavy, and she was hesitant to ask what it meant.

Her quietness unsettled Danny. "We need to sleep, it's getting late."

She grabbed a pillow and swung it halfheartedly at him. "You can't read me something in a language I cannot understand, and imbue it was such feeling, and then not expect me to ask you what it meant."

He smiled, reaching across and flicking off the lamp. For the first time he felt able to tell her how he felt, couching it in the words of a great author. "He dug so deeply into her sentiments that in search of interest he found love, because by trying to make her love him he ended up falling in love with her."

"Danny, that's… beautiful." She felt tears prick at her eyes, as they were in the habit of doing lately. He had given her something, and in a way that it had never been given before. She knew that he loved her, and yet he wasn't demanding a declaration in return. A simple 'I love you' could be such a loaded phrase. This was just an expression of feeling. It made her feel secure and happy. She loved him too, but didn't feel like it was the right time to say it.

She ducked her hand beneath the coverlet, skimming the length of his arm searching for his hand. She found it, closing her eyes as she interlaced their fingers.

They reclined in the dark in silence for a while on their backs, staring up at the darkened ceiling. Eventually Mindy yawned and turned to her side facing Danny. Unfortunately her contentment in the position couldn't outweigh her actual physical discomfort. She wiggled around, trying to find some way of lying that worked. She sighed in frustration

Before she could say anything, he reached around behind her and pulled her close, resulting in a position the opposite of their last time in the same bed. His leg tucked comfortably between hers once again. She sighed as the impossible heat radiating from him warmed her. She tucked her head into the hollow of his neck, settling as she felt his hands press into the small of her back. She was so very close to having everything. She planted a kiss on the skin by his collar bone, smiling as she drifted off.

* * *

**A/N: Forgive me for the Gabriel Garcia Marquez thing. I just kept remembering Mindy finding a book in Spanish when she was snooping through his room, and I thought this particular book sort of fit Danny. It's been a VERY long time since I've read it, and I did not read it in it's original Spanish.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry it took so long for an update. My life has been really icky lately, mostly my job has been wearing me out to the point where I cannot even think straight. But, sleep being the wonderful restorative that it is, I finally began to feel like writing again, and this is the result. I feel like it's winding down nicely. Let me know what you think. I always appreciate any and all feedback I get. Reviews give me life. :D **

Mindy felt the bright morning sunlight hit her face. She smiled, stretching against the sleeping form at her side. She tucked her head back under his chin, not wanting to leave the warmth of this little nest any time soon.

She felt him rouse, his arms tightening for a brief moment before he relaxed again. The hair on the top of her head stirred as he let out a long breath. It was very similar to what it had been like on the first occasion they'd woken up together, only now there was a fairly obvious difference resting between them. Mindy felt a contented smile pulling at her lips.

Her pregnant belly wasn't the only difference though. This time she didn't feel an awkward anxiety born of unsureness. Now there was no need to hurriedly extricate herself from the bed, playing at being bright and casual. It wouldn't bother her at all if they stayed like this all day.

"Mindy?"

She felt the pleasant vibration of her own name echoing through his chest against her. She inhaled deeply, once again noting the unique scent combination that was Danny Castellano. Fresh clean laundry soap mixed with the darkly masculine whiff of whatever cologne he'd used most recently, and just a touch of something totally undefinable. She sighed against him, still ensconced within the hazy realm of sleep. "Danny?"

"What kind of dreams have you been having?"

The question, spoken softly at her ear, surprised Mindy. Without thinking, she answered. "Terrible ones."

"About what?"

"You." She swallowed, suddenly her impossibly good mood faltered as she was reminded of the dreadful dreams. The hand that had been lightly resting on his bicep involuntarily clutched at it as she burrowed herself closer to him.

Sensing she didn't want to talk about it from her short clipped answers, Danny let it go. "When did you call Trish?"

"Trish? Who's Trish?"

"The realtor. She left a message on the machine. You didn't check it?"

"Oh." Mindy frowned. "Danny, you don't really expect me to know how to work that antique, do you?"

"Mindy." She was trying to change the subject, and he wouldn't have it.

"I forget… It was a while back. Right after you finalized the deal on this place." It really had been a long time ago. She'd had Trish come over and look at her apartment. She'd been on the fence about selling at the time and had given Trish an outlandish asking price. Then, on top of that, she'd set out some pretty unrealistic parameters for finding a new place too. If anyone had asked her, she would have admitted she was in no hurry for things to change.

"Really?" He hadn't meant for the question to sound so pleasantly surprised, or for his voice to slightly falter on the upswing. He cleared his throat. "She called to say there are people interested in your place, and that she's found a place for you to look at on the Upper East Side."

Mindy swallowed nervously. She didn't really mind the idea of selling her place. She hadn't been there all that frequently recently, and had moved most of her stuff here anyway, but the idea of really committing to a new apartment wasn't something she relished. "Um, I'll have to call her back, I guess. I don't really think I could handle living on the Upper East Side. The anxiety of potentially running into A-list celebrities on a daily basis would fray my nerves."

That was about as close as she could get to telling Danny that she wanted to just stay here, indefinitely. He seemed to understand what she meant, because he let out a relieved sigh. "You know, there's no rush. If Trish sells your place, it's not like you'd be out in the cold. I like you living here."

"I like me living here too."

"Good."

"Good."

* * *

"Hi, little baby, how are you? Are you going to kick for me?" Alex affected a high pitched baby voice as she leaned in close, her hands on either side of Mindy's rounded stomach and she chattered away. She pulled away, straightening up and leaning forward to give Mindy a full hug. "Oh, I've missed you so much. It's so good to be back. Europe was a bust."

The pair broke apart, sitting down at the open table by the front entrance of the coffee shop. They ordered their drinks and amicably chatted about Alex's foray into Europe. "I just thought a change of scenery would ignite something in me. I'd been treading water lately, professionally and personally." She took long sip of her cappuccino. "It didn't, by the way, and then I get back to New York, and am shocked to find out you're, like, the most pregnant person ever. What an unexpected surprise."

Mindy smiled at Alex. She hadn't seen her friend in almost a year, and Alex had basically been radio silent, not interacting with anyone through social media or even email while she was trying to find herself. Mindy had been happily surprised by her sudden reappearance. "Well, you look amazing, so what if Europe didn't spark something. There's always New York, it's like the Europe of North America. You'll figure things out."

Alex smiled sadly. "Yeah, maybe." The sad expressions was quickly swept away as she returned her attention to Mindy. "But, seriously, you have to tell me how this happened, and with who."

Mindy looked down at her tea. This was the moment she'd been dreading. She wasn't sure how Alex would react to the news of her having a child with Danny. Even though Alex's relationship with him had been short lived, the end had been somewhat fraught, and Mindy herself had contributed to its demise. She swallowed. "Uh, well, it's kind of a long story, but, uh…" She trailed off, her palms beginning to sweat. She panicked, and felt the inevitable word vomit creeping up. "It's Danny's, and we basically live together now, even though we're not in a relationship, and we told everyone that we planned it, but really we didn't, it was an accident, but he's been so good about it, and I'm starting to think I'm in love with him, but I don't know how to say it, or if I even should. I mean, sometimes I think he feels the same, but I can't tell."

The words came out so quickly, Mindy hadn't even paused for a breath between them. Alex was left staring at her, open mouthed. "Danny? Danny Castellano? Who you work with? Who I dated? Are you kidding me?"

Mindy bit her bottom lip, nodding, a worried expression settling on her face.

Alex sat back in her chair, a stunned look on her face. She scoffed. "Good luck with that."

Mindy frowned. She didn't like the note of disdain she heard in Alex's voice, not at all. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Alex glanced at her, looking somewhat sympathetic. "Come on, Min. We both know what kind of guy Danny is. An emotionally closed off angry dude who's afraid of change. I can only imagine the epic panic attack he must have had when you told him. If it weren't so unfortunate, it would almost be funny."

"Unfortunate?" The volume of Mindy's voice raised sharply. She was angry now. Alex did not know Danny. What little scrap of guilt that was left over from damaging Alex and Danny's relationship immediately vanished. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Alex's eyebrows raised at the indignant tone of Mindy's voice. "Sorry, Mindy. I didn't mean to hit a nerve. It's just that Danny seems to keep everyone at arm's length. He always selfishly guarded his personal space when we were together, keeping most aspects of his life separate from our relationship. I only meant that you deserve better than that." She peered at her friend closely. "Am I wrong?"

"You don't know Danny, at all really, you never did. He didn't freak out when I told him I was pregnant. He looked at me like I'd given him some sort of gift. And as for his personal space. He immediately sold his apartment and got a bigger one, intentionally making room for me. Do you see? For me. Not just the child. And he bit his tongue when my things began to creep out across the apartment, permeating his living space to the point where it's like they've always been there.

"For the first time since I left my parent's house, I actually feel like I'm living in a home. A home, Alex, not just some apartment." Her voice as teary now, her vision blurry. "I love him so much, and yes, he's guarded, and he'll probably always be that way, but it doesn't mean he doesn't feel those things too. I see it in his actions, in how protective he is of me, in how I catch him staring at me when he thinks I'm not looking. I see it when brings home sour straws for me when he thinks I've had a bad day, or when he sits through multiple episodes of _Teen Mom_ with only half a dozen or so complaints, or when he starts talking about his family, and I hear affection creep into his voice, and suddenly I realize it's a sound I recognize, because I hear it when he talks to me all the time."

She was actually crying now, and felt quite embarrassed about it. She picked up napkins and dabbed at her eyes. "Alex, I'm sorry. This is always happening lately. It has to be the hormones." She sighed. "Sometimes I forget that not everyone can see that side of him, that he doesn't show it to other people that often."

Alex stared at her, wide eyed. "God, Mindy, I guess I didn't really know Danny. I'm sorry I've upset you." She leaned forward, placing her hand on Mindy's arm. "You are like, so far gone, it's ridiculous. How on earth have you held off on telling him how you feel? That's not like you. I remember, once, when we were freshmen in college, you told our Intro to Biology professor that it was impossible for you to concentrate on the formation of a phospholipid bilayer because your heart did little flips in your chest every time he said 'fatty acid'. How have you been keeping this to yourself?"

She looked down at her hands. "I don't know." It hurt her to admit that she was afraid. "Sometimes I think I know what he's feeling, but I have this thought in the back of my mind that constantly pops up. I don't know what I would do if I said it, and he didn't feel the same." She sighed. "If he would just say it first, then I could dive in, but I don't know if that's ever going to happen."

Alex laughed. "Knowing Danny, he's probably said it to you half a dozen times while you were sleeping, but still can't bring himself to say it to your face. I hate it, Mindy, but you're working with one damaged guy. You're going to need to put yourself out there if you want things to progress."

She didn't like the idea of referring to Danny as damaged, but she couldn't deny the truth of Alex's words. Danny was used to people rejecting him, which on its face seemed so outlandish that she wouldn't have believed it if she didn't already know it to be true. How could anyone reject him? She was suddenly very angry at his father, at Christina. She even felt a little anger, albeit misplaced, toward Alex for rejecting Danny. She had to remind herself that Danny really had been pretty closed off with her friend. "You're right, I suppose, but that doesn't make it much easier."

"Never said it would."

* * *

"And then he picked me up and carried me all the way home." Richie Castellano's eyes sparkled as he finished his story. "God, it felt like miles."

Danny interrupted him. "More like one mile. You didn't get very far when you ran away."

Richie laughed, glancing at Mindy across the table before he returned his attention to his brother. "Give me a break, I was seven years old. I wasn't even really sure how to get off the island."

Maria returned to the table, dessert in hand. She sat it down in the middle of the table. Turning, she grabbed her youngest son by the shoulder. "Don't remind me of the worst eight hours of my entire life. I swear, I thought you boys were going to be the death of me." Her pleased smile contradicted the scolding tone of her words. She portioned out slices of her homemade coffee cake, pausing when she got to Mindy. "Castellano boys are a handful. You'll see."

Mindy felt warmth rush to her cheeks. This had become a regular thing, dinner with his mother. They trekked out to the island once a month and visited with her. At first, Danny had broached the subject of dinner with his mother with some trepidation. He really hadn't thought it would be Mindy's idea of a good time, but he'd barely gotten the suggestion out before she had jumped on it excitedly. "An authentic home cooked Italian meal once a month? Sign me up!"

He'd grunted indignantly. "I cook."

"Yeah, but she taught you all you know, so does it really even compare?"

That had been shortly after they'd broken the news to his mother, and he'd been afraid the dinners themselves would be awkward, but things had worked out much differently.

Maria had embraced Mindy, radiating a warm affection whenever they interacted. She still gave Danny sly looks whenever Mindy wasn't paying attention, and even made comments hinting around at the possibility Mindy might be her daughter one day. It sort of embarrassed Danny, but he couldn't be displeased by his mother's affection. It wasn't something she dispensed all that frequently to people outside of her family.

Tonight had been one of the rare occasions when his younger brother had also been visiting. They all sat at the little table in the dining room, chatting and laughing over their coffee, tea for Mindy, and cake. Danny's head shot up at his mother's last remark. "You think it's a boy too?"

She nodded. "Call it a mother's intuition, and never argue with it." She winked at Mindy.

Danny smirked. "I feel compelled to make the argument that there's no way to know. Not really."

Mindy rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, you just want it to be a girl so you can pick out the name, and I've already told you, 'Ruth' is off the table. I don't care how much you admire Ruth Bader Ginsburg."

Danny's mouth fell open. "What? I've never said anything about 'Ruth.' What makes you think that's what I would pick?"

Mindy laughed. "Oh my god, Danny. You haven't exactly been subtle with the hints you've been dropping." She took another bite of her cake, sipping from her cup. "Why else would I have this really random, really long, list of biographical trivia about the woman stuck in my head?"

Richie laughed. "He's always been obsessed with her."

Danny darted an embarrassed look between the two of them. "The woman learned Swedish just to co-author a book about judicial procedure in Sweden." He said it defensively.

Maria reached over and patted her Danny on the shoulder, smiling. "So you've said dear. The woman's a marvel."

Danny was exasperated. "She was the first tenured woman at Columbia Law, and she's always been a crusader for women's rights." He was getting a little huffy about it. "So sue me if I want my daughter to have a namesake she can be proud of, someone she can aspire to be like, and not some lovesick character in a completely unrealistic book."

Richie elbowed him. "Hey, Bridget is a nice name."

"How did you know she was tossing that one around?"

Richie shrugged, giving his food full attention. "I called last week and you weren't home. We chatted. You've got to be more open minded. Bridget Jones is a wonderful literary character."

Mindy bit her bottom lip, trying not to laugh. The truth is, Danny really had convinced her Ruth would be a good name. She just enjoyed picking at him so much sometimes. The love she heard in his voice when talking about his hypothetical child sent a flood of warmth through her. "Well, actually Danny, I think I've settled on a boy's name. Really settled this time, not just contemplating it. Want to hear it?"

Danny groaned. He could hear the earnestness in her voice, and worried that he wouldn't be able to hide is disappointment if the name she chose were to be ridiculous. Up until this point, he had been able to tell that she was just messing with him. He looked at her expectantly, biting the inside of his cheek.

She wiped her hands on the napkin in front of her and sat up straight, as though she were about to give a speech. "Well, I think I need to be honest with you and say that I've known what name I wanted all along. I just loved seeing your face get all twitchy when I said yet another character from _The Hunger Games_ or _Glee._"

Danny's eyebrows furrowed. "Mindy, I—"

She cut him off. "And then I was talking to your mother about it, and I was pleased to learn that it's actually your great uncle's name. Your favorite uncle." She was smiling broadly.

His expression softened and he stared at her in disbelief. "Michael?"

She nodded.

He was quiet, looking down at the table, trying to collect his thoughts. "Min, that's…. perfect." He looked up and caught her gaze, holding it. "Uncle Michael was the person who convinced me to go to med school." He spoke the words softly, hoping she really understood how much it meant to him, forgetting briefly about the other two people sitting at the table.

Maria's head snapped up. "What do you mean, 'convinced?' I thought it was a foregone conclusion."

Startled out of his trance, Danny glanced at his mother sheepishly, lifting one hand up to the back of his neck nervously. "Well, um, ma. It wasn't…" He trailed off. Somehow he'd avoided telling her this for years. Now his palms were sweating, and Maria was giving him a steely stare. He sighed, not knowing what to say.

His gaze dropped to the table as Mindy settled her hand over his nervously drumming fingers, stilling them. He took a deep breath. "I was worried… about you and Richie. I knew things were tight, and I didn't know what you would do without my support. Yeah, I know it wasn't much when I was an undergrad, but I knew it would be nothing when I started med school. I thought I should just get a job. Uncle Michael convinced me otherwise."

Maria smiled sadly. "I always wondered why he poked his nose in here so often. Reporting back to you, was he?" She shook her head. "You're lucky he convinced you, because I would have made your life hell until you decided to go yourself."

Danny relaxed. He knew his mother had always hated it when he worried about her, but he had never been able to completely reign it in. "I realize that, believe me."

Richie chimed in. "Oh, I know all about your ability to make one's life hell." He smirked, turning to Mindy. "I briefly moved back here when Danny cut me off, thinking ma would have some sympathy. Massive error in judgment there." He laughed. "I had to go all the way to Florida to get away from her."

Danny kicked his brother under the table. "Watch it."

Maria smiled. "And look how well that turned out." The atmosphere was light once again. "You two came out pretty good, I suppose." She got up and began collecting the dishes from the table.

Mindy levered herself up from her chair, and tried to help, but Maria placed a hand on her shoulder, gently easing her back down. "Not this time sweetie. Look at you, you need to stay off your feet. Daniel, help me with these."

Danny reflexively obeyed his mother's request, collecting the dishes and following her into the kitchen. He placed them in the sink, running the hot water. He enjoyed being in his mother's kitchen. There was a sense of calm here that he'd never found anywhere else. He hummed as he soaped the dishes. He felt a hand on his back. "Daniel, when are you going to do something about that?"

He stopped humming but continued to wash and rinse the plates. "About what?"

Maria sighed, leaning up against the counter so she could look her son in the eye. "Can you really not see it?"

Danny's hands stilled in the warm soapy water. He wasn't sure what to say. "See what?"

"You know, I never really thought I'd feel this way about someone. I mean, there was no connection at all with Christina. She would always come with you when you visited, but she was so quiet, distant even. I wanted to love her, because you did, but I just couldn't feel anything for the girl."

Danny frowned in confusion. "Ma, what does this have to do with anything?"

She laid her hand on his arm. "Daniel, I love Mindy, like a daughter. She's warm and enthusiastic, and she has this eternal optimism that shines through her like sunbeams. When I met her, she barreled over me with natural affection. I was totally powerless against it. When you're with her, the rainclouds following you around disappear. I think that's the real reason I've come to love her. Do you know how long it's been since I've seen you smile the way you've been smiling these days?"

Danny was speechless. He just stared at her. "I hardly recognize you, and it's a good thing. You had me worried there for a while. I could hear the bitterness in your voice whenever you spoke." She reached up, brushing the hair across his forehead. "The only time I ever see the happy expression on her face falter is when she looks at you when you're not aware of it. Suddenly it's as if she's scared out of her wits. It's brief, and she always snaps out of it, but it's there."

Danny grabbed the towel beside the sink and dried his hands. "She's scared? Of what?"

"It's the same thing you're afraid of. One of you is going to have to stop being afraid, or this is not going to end well." She reached into her pocket, pulling out something. "I was going to give this to you a long time ago, but you never asked for it, so I just kept it." She reached out, grabbing his hand and turning it palm up.

She settled a small box on his palm. "It was your Aunt Lucrezia's. She never had any children, and she died when you and Richie were kids. She willed it to her closest unmarried relative. That was you."

Danny looked at the box in his hand, carefully prying open the top. Nestled in a little pillow of silk was exactly what he'd been expecting. A ring. Not just any ring though. It was a beautifully wrought antique, the silver band a series of intertwined metal threads, and a large square diamond mounted in the center. "Ma, I don't—"

"It's yours, to do whatever you please with. It never really belonged to me anyway."

"Do you really think…" He trailed off, almost afraid to finish the thought.

She put her arms around him, squeezing him reassuringly. "I don't know, son, but don't you think you ought to find out?"


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. I was suffering from a bit of writer's block, probably stemming from the fact that i'd reached the end of my outline, but not the end of my story. I hope you like this addition to the story, and I still have one or two chapters planned. :D As always, please feel free to leave any reviews or comments. I really appreciate them, and they help a lot. Have a great day!**

CH 12

Mindy pursed her lips, sporting a duck face in the mirror. She sucked her cheeks in and did her best heroin chic model pose. Ugh. It was so strange being pregnant. There were times when the hormones made her feel like the most beautiful person in the world. She received comments on a daily basis about her "glowing" state, and yet there were times like these, when she felt like an unattractive hippo.

She peered closer in the mirror. She felt all puffy. Of course, there was a chance that was caused by the unprompted bout of tears she'd had while flipping through channels. Well, not totally unprompted. There had been a commercial about dog food, which had reminded her of the existence of puppies, which had reminded her of the existence of sad puppies and Sarah McLachlan.

She sighed, picking up her toothbrush and depositing a pea size dollop of toothpaste on it. She brushed her teeth, feeling a smile start at the memory of Danny's reaction to her tears. He'd been sitting in the floor, his red glasses perched on the tip of his nose, reading the instructions to some baby contraption Gwen had bought them.

She'd cried silently for a few seconds before finally gasping a little bit, an audible sob finally escaping her lips. His head had snapped up, alarmed. With wide eyes he'd dropped the instructions to the floor and sprung up to the couch beside her. "Min?" His hand sweeping soothing circles on her back, he'd gently encouraged her to lean into him. "Is something wrong?" Concern had enveloped his words, and she'd struggled to point at the tv, barely getting out the word, "Puppies."

Instead of being annoyed like she'd expected, he'd just chuckled, leaning down to place an affectionate kiss at her temple, while squeezing her shoulder and promptly returning to the task lying in the floor before them.

He was so easy with her sometimes, finding a closeness that she sometimes left her in a strange state. The feel of his arm stretched across her back, his hands gently caressing her, sometimes it got to be a bit much. She liked to blame the pregnancy hormones. She'd had numerous conversations with her patients about the sudden upsurge of desire for physical intimacy in the middle and end of pregnancy. Hell, she could admit, the sight of Danny sitting there in the floor, his sleeves rolled up, concentrating on putting together the contraption before him, had made her mouth dry, her stomach flutter, her fingers itch to dig into his toned flesh.

It was the hormones, damn it. She kept telling herself that, denying that desire for Danny had been present for a very long time. Sleeping with him every night, curled up so closely, only made it that much worse. Lying so damn close to him, her lips millimeters away from the skin she ogled during the day, played havoc with her already vivid dream cycles.

She finished brushing her teeth, swishing the water around to rinse away the foam. She glanced up at her reflection again, noting the distinct glow of a Mindy Lahiri blush. Yeah, she had sex dreams about Danny. Again, something she had discussed with patients in the past, but had never really thought much about until now. And now she couldn't seem to stop thinking about them. They melted into her day to day life, causing her to zone out occasionally to replay them in her head.

God! Could anyone blame her? She woke up every morning pressed up against him, their limbs entwined, his chest either bumping up against hers, or pressed close against her back. His heat, something that she thought would be a problem, only giving her a sensation of endless warmth, so pleasant that she pretended to still be asleep, his obvious arousal pressed up against her.

To her eternal dismay, he never acted on that arousal. The farthest he'd ever gone before sneaking out of bed in the morning, was to plant a sweet kiss on the back of her neck. She'd fought the urge to whimper as he withdrew. She craved physical contact and just wasn't receiving it to the degree she needed. He was being too cautious with her, something had to give.

Tonight, the first night in a long time actually, they were both home, getting ready for bed at the same time. None of that missed-connection type stuff as he quietly slipped into bed with her already sleeping. Tonight would be different, and she wasn't going to wait for him to make a move.

She rinsed off her toothbrush, tapping it on the side of the sink, once more looking at herself in the mirror. She sighed. The childlike pajamas did little to inspire confidence in herself, but none of her sexy lingerie fit her at the moment. She smiled, looking down at her boobs. For the first time in her life they were what she would call 'ginormous.' She plucked at the edge of the buttoned up top, shrugging. She had an instinct that Danny liked these pj's, for whatever reason.

* * *

Danny flipped through his book absentmindedly. It was impossible to concentrate on the words scattered across the pages. Mindy was just a wall away, standing in front of the bathroom sink probably flossing or something, wearing her soft cotton pajamas, the ones that covered every inch of skin, the ones that felt soft and warm against him as he inevitably gathered her into his arms each night.

It seemed like some strange quirk of fate that had left him running late almost every night since they'd decided to start sleeping in the same bed. Each evening she'd already been asleep when he'd arrived home. He'd taken to showering and slipping in quietly beside her, his breath catching in his chest as she unconsciously reached for him. Tonight was the first time he'd been faced with the awkwardness of waiting for her.

Every morning he woke slowly, his limbs entangled with hers, his nose buried in her hair, his mind half-conscious but his body at full attention. He would carefully unwind his legs from hers, cautiously slip his arm from beneath her, and get up to take a cold shower. They were in this strange gray area when it came to their relationship. An unspoken rule hung in the air. It was like the 'what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas' rule. The bed was neutral territory. So, if Mindy woke up in the morning, with a sleeping Danny poking her in the back, or with him resting his hands gently on her breasts she said nothing about it, and when Danny woke, with Mindy's lips moving softly at his collar bone, mumbling something into his skin, he never said anything about that either.

He tucked his bookmark back between the pages and settled the book back on his night stand, slowly removing his reading glasses, fidgeting with them before he dropped them down beside the book. This was different though. This was the comfortable routine of an old married couple, unwinding together sitting side by side in the bed. Danny wasn't sure how to take it.

He was still lost in thought when Mindy breezed through the doorway, unceremoniously dropping down on the bed beside him, tucking herself underneath the covers and picking up her own book. He tried to behave normally, donning his glasses once again, picking up the uninteresting novel beside him, but he couldn't stop stealing looks when he thought she was preoccupied.

"Danny, you have got to stop staring at me while I try to read." She lowered the book to her elevated abdomen, pointing to the title. _Drinking and Tweeting and other Brandi Blunders_. "How am I supposed to learn from her mistakes?"

Danny frowned. "How do people that aren't even famous write memoirs?"

"Danny, don't pretend you don't know she's one of the Real Housewives. You even know the exact city she's from too." She smiled at him, looking at him over the top of her thick black frames.

That smile. That look. Those adorably dorky glasses. He could feel a matching smile on his face. "Beverly Hills right? How could I forget? I distinctly remember you ranting about floozy country singers for weeks."

Her eyes widened. "More like _home wrecking _floozy country singers. LeAnn Rimes totally stole Eddie Cibrian right from under Brandi's nose!" She opened the book again, trying to find her place. Without looking up at Danny she said, "Clearly we need to watch out for blonde bombshell pop stars trying to take our darkly handsome men."

Danny felt the grin on his face widen. "_Our _darkly handsome men? You meet somebody recently?"

Mindy carefully tucked her bookmark between the pages of her book, taking time to remove her glasses and set both of them gently on the nightstand beside her. She turned back to Danny, narrowing her eyes. "Yes, 'our.' I didn't stutter, and no, not recently anyway."

She bit her bottom lip and Danny felt his breath shorten. He opened his mouth to say something, but, in her typically impulsive way, she leaned over to him, capturing his lips with hers, sucking hungrily at him. It was the first time they'd kissed since the night of her last bad dream. He felt her fingers slide from his cheek to the back of his head, her nails scraping against his scalp as they threaded through the hair at his nape.

His own hands involuntarily clutched at her, roving up and down her shoulders, cupping her cheeks, running through her hair, settling on the buttons running up and down her front. He fumbled with them blindly, attempting to free them without pulling back from her kiss. Finally, one then two fell open and he slipped his hand beneath the top, reaching for the skin to skin contact he craved, brushing his thumb against her sensitive areola.

At his touch, she whimpered into his kiss and it killed him. He pulled her closer, sliding his leg between her knees. Her free hand resting on his chest traveled downward, quickly darting beneath the elastic band of his pajama bottoms. He sucked in his breath, pulling away from her lips. "Min… wait… no." He was panting, already worked into an embarrassing state.

He wasn't the only one. She stared up at him with passion glazed eyes, desire written all over her face, only now her brows were furrowed. "What?"

He pushed her back gently. He had wanted to broach the subject of their relationship tonight. Going at it like horny teenagers wasn't going to change anything about their situation. He glanced down at her, his gaze sweeping her body head to toe. He latched onto the first thing that popped into his mind. "I mean, Min, there are… risks."

Her eyes widened. "Risks!? Who do you think you're talking to? Danny, I'm an OBGYN just like you. The risks are minimal if anything. Sex during pregnancy at any time is pretty much safe, especially when the pregnancy is low risk, which so far mine has been."

He was speechless. The risks thing had sort of been an excuse, but now that he thought about it, it seemed more and more valid. He'd never known this kind of fear in his entire life. And it wasn't like it had just pounced on him. It was this constant low frequency humming in the back of his mind at all times. He couldn't handle the thought of anything happening to her or their child.

He was quiet for too long. Mindy frowned, the urge to cry sweeping over her briefly before she squelched it. "Oh, I see."

Danny snapped out of his own worry, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Wait, what?"

"I get it, I really do. You're not attracted to me. I'm a whale." She flipped the coverlet back and slipped out of the bed, snatching her glasses of the night stand. "Sorry I forced myself on you." There was acid in her words, and it cut Danny deeply.

Danny was still panting from his exertions, confusion sweeping over him, "You didn't—"

She paced around his room, opening drawers looking for something. She stopped at his closet, swinging the doors open. She got more frustrated each time she looked in a new place, not finding what she wanted. She huffed out a huge sigh and stomped over to his closet. She paused, reaching up to snatch his sweater off of its hanger. "I won't bother you anymore. I'll just go back to my room."

He jumped up, following her as she strode out of his room, stopping briefly in his doorway to gather his thoughts. "Min, wait, no… that's not… you can't…" She wouldn't slow down. She was in her room in a matter of seconds, reaching across her bed to fluff the pillows up and pull the blanket back.

"Sex is safe, sure, but… um… you know when a woman..." He was frustrated with the direction the conversation had taken. She tucked herself into her bed, turning to lay facing away from him. "Mindy. Orgasms can release prostaglandins, which can cause contractions."

She snorted. "Oh, wow, you flatter yourself, Castellano." She popped her head back up to glare at him. "Go back to your room." She flipped back over, ignoring him.

He stood in the doorway for a moment, completely at a loss for how this had even happened. "Min, this isn't fair. You don't have any idea what I'm thinking." Sure, he could blame this on his bumbling attempt to put the brakes on, but it was pretty obvious that she'd had a disproportionate response to slowing things down. She was hurt, and he felt guilty about it, but he didn't have a good way to explain things to her at the moment.

He turned on his heel and walked back to his room. Sliding back into bed, it felt cold, empty even. He pummeled the pillow next to him into some acceptable shape, sighing as he closed his eyes, resigning himself to a restless night.

* * *

They sat at the breakfast table, eating shredded wheat in silence. Danny folded the newspaper and slapped it down in front of him. "Ok, I've had enough of the silent treatment. We're not children. This isn't how adults behave."

She continued to eat, not sparing him a glance. He sighed. "Really? I honestly thought you would break this morning when I suggested we forgo the normal Saturday morning pancakes and sausage in favor of something healthier."

She looked up at him this time, her face expressionless as she doggedly chewed her shredded wheat.

He slammed his spoon down. "Damn it, Mindy! Will you say something?"

She swallowed her last bite and carefully laid her spoon down on the table. "I think I've had an epiphany Danny. A real 'aha moment,' if you will. I called Trish back."

"What, why?"

"I told her to put an offer on the apartment on the Upper East Side." She was staring at him in very matter of fact way. Her face was totally serene. "Look, Danny, I was laboring under the silly notion that we were somehow going to find a way to end up together, to be this perfect little family. There's too much in the way. I see that now. I was just putting off finding a new place in the hopes that this would develop, but it didn't. I understand. It was futile of me to think otherwise. You don't feel that way. You don't want me."

Danny stared at her, open mouthed in his astonishment. Where the hell was this coming from? Sure, they'd had a little misunderstanding, but it hadn't been this huge. Had it? She was being so calm about all of this. How? Last night she had been near tears over their interaction and today she was fine? It didn't make any sense. She smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes.

He shoved back from the table, rounding as Mindy rose from her own chair. He grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her to face him. "Mindy, you can't… I…" He stopped because she was still staring at him so calmly that it completely unnerved him.

She reached up, placing the palm of one hand against his face. "Danny, it's ok, you'll find someone. She'll be nice, and she won't get on your nerves. She won't drag you to silly modern art shows or make you go to the Empire State Building on Valentine 's Day. She won't play Rhianna while she's in the shower, or use your razor when she can't find her own. It'll be a nice quiet life for you."

Danny felt a crushing weight on his chest as his throat closed up. She was pulling away from him and it hurt, like someone was tearing off one of his limbs. He tightened his grip on her, intending to say something, when he felt a hand land on his shoulder, pulling his attention away.

He glanced down at the small well-manicured fingers on his bicep, trailing up the arm to their owner, Trish. "Danny, I have a wonderful place for Mindy. Better than this one." Where the hell had she come from? He certainly hadn't buzzed her up or opened the door. He turned back to look at Mindy, but she wasn't there, his fingers slipped through the air. "Min?"

He felt the panic rising up in his chest. Angrily he turned back to Trish, only to find that she was gone too. He spun in a circle looking at everything in his apartment. It looked the same, but somehow different. All of the little touches that he'd associated with Mindy were absent. All of the color was gone. Suddenly the sky outside was bleak, the trees in the park looked drained of life. He couldn't take it.

Dropping down to the floor on his knees, he tried to cope with the hollowness in him. For the first time in years he felt tears slipping from beneath his eyelids, sliding down his cheeks. The loneliness settled over him like a heavy blanket. It was a familiar feeling, one that he hadn't even realized had been gone until it was thrown back over him. He couldn't breathe. Clutching at his throat he squeezed his eyes shut, forcing out the last of the tears.

Danny woke, covered in sweat, fists full of his sheets, panting into the darkness. A flood of relief completely overwhelmed him, sending yet another cascade of tears down his cheeks. He reached up, brushing away the uncharacteristic dampness.

He was out of the bed before he could even think about it, purposefully striding through his door, only stopping briefly in front of hers. Taking a deep breath he pushed it open, and made his way to her bedside.

She was still lying on her side, back facing the doorway, when he flipped up the coverlet and slipped in behind her.

"Danny? What are you doing?"

She was still awake. He gathered her to him tightly, burying his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply. He laid a kiss on the back of her neck, his lips lingering. The warmth in his arms slowly eradicating the desolate feeling produced by his dream.

"Danny?"

"Mindy. I thought I knew what fear was, but I was wrong. I'd never really felt it before. Maybe it's irrational sometimes, but the thought of losing you for any reason paralyzes me, and I can't function."

Mindy shifted in his arms, facing him. "I don't understand, what are you talking about?"

He sighed, gathering her closer to him. "How could you think I'm not attracted to you? I can barely keep myself in check when we're sleeping in the same bed. The desire I feel runs rampant through my veins, it scares me how much I want you sometimes, but fear overrides it."

She frowned. "Fear? I told you, and you know, that there's very little risk—"

He cut her off. "It isn't just that. I'm afraid of doing something to lose you in a broader sense. I don't want to screw up our relationship. I don't want to do some dickish thing that will send you out looking for another place to live, another person to share your life with. I can't handle that. It stops me sometimes from telling you what I feel."

She stared at him, eyes wide in understanding. "Oh." Taking a deep breath, she found the courage to do what Alex had told her she needed to do. She gave something to Danny. "I hope you know that I love you. I haven't said it, because I hate saying it first. I hate seeing that moment of hesitation on a guy's face before he either says it back, or says nothing. I hate it so much, but Danny, I don't want you to say anything. I think I know how you feel, but there's this small chance that our situation has colored that, and I want you to wait a bit before you say it." She swallowed. It was difficult, but even with everything she wasn't so sure Danny really knew what he felt toward her. He opened his mouth to argue with her, but she just shook her head. "No, please. Let it be enough that I've said it, and that you can know you're not going to lose me, in any way. Ok?"

He clenched his jaw. She made things so difficult sometimes. He wanted to shout it, to run down the hall and knock on their neighbor's doors to tell them too. He wanted to say it over and over again between kisses. He wanted her to know. Her eyes were pleading with him, and he was powerless to deny her this thing she wanted. "Fine." Like a petulant child, he said it in his mind over and over again with some small hope that he could be telepathic if he tried hard enough.

He kissed her diligently, trailing his fingers up her spine from the small of her back and stopping at her nape to thread them through her hair. Slipping his leg between her knees once again, he reached up and began working at the buttons of her night shirt. He broke their kiss. "Can we please continue where we left off?"

She smiled shyly at him, nodding as she wound her arms around his neck to pull him back down to her. "God, yes." She captured his lips with hers, slipping one hand underneath his shirt. "I will do so many not nice things to you if you stop me again."

He laughed, sliding one hand down to squeeze her backside. "Please, do those things anyway."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Update! at last. So i've had this chapter written for a couple days, but I felt like it was missing some element of humor. Not sure if i captured what i'd been looking for, but at a certain point I just have to post it. Enjoy, and as always i appreciate any and all reviews. Now i'm going to bed, it's really late.**

Danny waited. She'd asked him not to say the words he felt perched on his vocal chords, and he almost felt like honoring her request might not be all that difficult, but the weeks dragged on. Moment after moment passed in which he so desperately wanted to utter them, but held his tongue because of her request. The waiting was terrible, not knowing exactly what kind of sign he was looking for, what thing would be his green light.

Here they were again, sleeping the in the same bed. Danny was awake, as so often happened lately in the middle of the night, his arms curled around her as he listened to her even breathing. He could feel the happiness exuding from her, from himself even. He liked these moments with her, even though she was totally unaware. In the silence his mind ran away with thoughts of their future. He could see what it had the potential to be, and he felt like the luckiest person in the world.

Since they'd cleared the air and defined their relationship somewhat, it was as though he could see the finish line. They were so close to figuring all of this out. This one thing just stood in the way.

The first couple days after Mindy's declaration he hadn't thought all that much about why she hadn't wanted him to say it back. He'd actually played it off as some strange Mindy quirk, one that would quickly pass. He'd fully expected her to do an about-face the next week, begging him to just spit it out. When that hadn't happened, he'd thought things might begin to get awkward between them. There was always a chance this was some test she'd devised for him, one that he was failing miserably. That seemed like a very Mindy-thing to do as well, but her upbeat affectionate mood hadn't seemed to falter as the weeks wore on.

Sure, things weren't a bed of roses between them. It's not like their relationship had been or ever would be that way, and Danny wouldn't want it like that in any case. They still fought about various things, eventually coming to shaky compromises on mostly trivial disagreements.

They'd only had one real, borderline terrifying fight since. He still shuddered at the memory of their most recent blowout. It had escalated inexplicably quickly, and he realized now that it hadn't been about what he'd thought, not really. Both of them had infused their own doubts into the fight. He closed his eyes, still regretful of some of the thing he'd said.

It had all started so innocently. One morning at breakfast he'd noted that she hadn't been remembering her vitamins each morning. She'd nodded, seeming to acknowledge what he'd said, and continued to read her magazine while eating her orange slices. It hadn't quite been the reaction he'd been looking for, but he hadn't pursued it, hoping she would just remember next time.

A week had passed, and the seal on the bottle sitting on the little shelf in the bathroom remained unbroken. He'd brought it up again, this time at the office, which had been a monumental mistake. They'd been standing around Betsy's desk, looking through their mail before the practice opened. "Min, you're still not taking your vitamins. It's such a small thing. You're a doctor. I don't understand how you forget every single morning. Do I need to lay them out for you?"

He knew he'd made an error when she'd raised her head from the envelopes in her hand, very slowly turning her gaze toward him. He'd expected a barrage of arguments about the necessity of vitamins at this juncture, or even a complete denial that she'd forgotten. Instead, she'd skewered him with an icy stare and quietly said, "We'll talk about this when we get home."

And talk they did, or rather yell.

* * *

As soon as they crossed the threshold she'd abruptly turned to face him. "Don't ever take that tone with me again, especially not in public, Danny. That was so embarrassing. It was like you were reprimanding your irresponsible teenage daughter."

Danny was taken aback. He hadn't intended for his pestering her over this to cause such strife. Her reaction to it seemed disproportionate. Sure, he had taken a pretty condescending tone with her, and in front of people they worked with. He regretted that. Occasionally he found himself reverting back to their old relationship when he became exasperated with her. "I'm sorry, Min. It's just that sometimes I feel like I have to be the adult here." He kicked himself. He had a bad habit of qualifying his apologies and turning them into defenses for his behavior.

Before he could correct his mistake, her eyes widened in anger. "Just because we disagree about a lot of things, does not mean that I'm some immature little bimbo who needs a father figure for a boyfriend. I don't need you to lay my vitamins out for me Danny, ok. I'm not actually a child, I can take care of myself."

Danny's irritation level involuntarily rose in reaction to her raised voice. The heat with which she was approaching this argument triggered a similar response in himself, even if it was irrational. He didn't stop to ask himself why she was having such a strong reaction. His nostrils flared as he followed her to her bedroom where she was kicking off her shoes. "Oh, can you? Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but this is an area you seem to have trouble with, isn't it?"

Her head snapped around to look at him, eyes narrowed. "What are you saying, Castellano?"

Danny took another step forward, gesturing vaguely toward her. "Well, these aren't exactly the first pills you've forgotten to take, are they?"

He regretted saying it as soon as the words left his mouth, but even more so when he saw the fiery light of argument extinguished in her eyes, replaced by profound hurt. He'd gotten caught up in the anger swirling around them, and now he had a sick sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. As a child he'd felt this once, when he'd angrily told his mother he hated her. A similar shame flooded him now. They were words intended to cut deeply, and he immediately felt their sting as they passed his lips. His heart constricted in his chest and he involuntarily reached for her, but she was already pushing him away, through the door.

He was across the threshold before he could react, the tumblers clicking as she flipped the locks. He bumped his forehead against the paneling of the oak door. "Mindy." He called out her name. "I'm sorry. I didn't…" He cursed himself. Always perfectly able to say exactly the wrong thing in the heat of the moment. It had been such a mean thing to say too. "Mindy, please, let me in."

He heard soft footsteps pad back across her room, and stop on the other side of the door. "I get it, Danny. I'm an irresponsible child, and I've gotten you into a huge mess." He could hear the tears in her voice and it tore at him, causing his own throat to close up. "I know it's my fault. I can't even argue with you."

Danny heard the defeat in her voice. It was not a sound he was very familiar with. He hated it, and he hated himself for being its cause. "Mindy, no. It's not a mess. It's the best thing that's ever happened to me." His voice cracked on the last word, and he stopped to compose himself, taking a deep breath. "I didn't mean to be such a condescending dick about everything. Please, open up." His last request came out softly. "Please?"

The clicking locks was the sweetest sound he'd ever heard, but she only opened the door a couple inches, just enough to peer at him through the crack. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. Looking at her, he opened and closed his mouth, at a loss for what to say. "Danny. What are we doing? Look at us. Arguing about vitamins like it's a matter of life and death?" She shook her head sadly, her voice breaking a little on her last statement. "I know I'm not who you would have picked, given the choice, and that we've found ourselves thrown together, and there's something between us now, maybe out of necessity. I know I'm not your type, ok? I forget to take pills, and don't always wear a jacket when it's cold outside, and I buy every single issue of a magazine at the newsstand even though a subscription would cheaper. We don't operate the same. That's why I didn't want you to say it, because I know you think you feel it, but you've got all this residual emotion and happiness from the joy of having a child. Sometimes I think it's just overflow from that. Surely you'll come to your senses sooner or later." She swallowed. "Everyone always does."

So that's what this had been about for her? This argument about vitamins had been some sort of larger representation of their relationship? Damn it! How as he supposed to know that. He couldn't read her mind. The vulnerability in the way she looked at him at that moment made him want to sweep her up in a clinging embrace whisper reassuring words in her ear. This particular insecurity was kind of shocking to him. He'd always known she had the occasional bout of uncertainty, but he never dreamed he would be the focus of it. He'd been smitten with her for so long, he could hardly believe she wasn't aware of it.

He frowned. "Mindy. I wouldn't pick you? Are you kidding me? I picked you when you breezed into the hospital, an eager young intern, whose smile elicited a warm tingling in my chest, even though I couldn't have you, even though I was trapped in a loveless marriage. I picked you when you walked through the doors of Shulman & Associates, wearing a neon pink skirt and a bright purple sweater with cats on it, and my heart did a little flip in my chest when you laughed at something that idiot Jeremy said, even though I was still bitter."

He pushed the door open wider, taking her face in his hands, dabbing at the tear tracks. "I picked you every time I felt a surge of jealousy course through me when you dated another undeserving guy. Mindy, please don't think the only reason we're together is because of some accident." He kissed her briefly, pulling back just enough to rest his forehead on hers. "We're different, yes, we're opposites. We do operate differently. Yes, and thank God for that. I'm boring sometimes and stodgy, and you're impulsive and sometimes reckless. We need each other ok?"

She nodded, crying again. He retreated from her a little, running his hands up and down her arms. This was the green light. "Mindy, I–"

She interrupted him, placing her finger against his lips in a dramatic fashion. "No, don't… I mean, I do want you to say it, but not right now. Not when emotions are running high, not when you feel like you need to say it to reassure me."

Danny grunted in exasperation. "Mindy." He drew her name out in frustration. She just stared up at him, once again pleading with her eyes. He melted. Suddenly it seemed like the height of logic. He didn't want to say it immediately after uttering spiteful words. He wanted her to be happy, not tearstained. He sighed. "Okay."

* * *

She shifted in his arms, mumbling something and grunting. He could tell she was becoming more and more uncomfortable as she got closer to her due date. She was often restless in the night. She turned toward him, sighing. "Danny, you're so sweet, being totally creepy, watching me sleep." She dropped a kiss on his shoulder. She flopped her head back on the pillow, exhaling. "God, I can't breathe. There's a person inside of me pushing all of my organs into places they never expected to be."

He placed his hand on her stomach, smiling at the feeling of his child moving beneath his touch. "When does he sleep, Danny? Tell me that? _When_ does he sleep? 'Cause it sure isn't when the sun is down."

Danny laughed, sitting up beside her, flicking on the low light of the beside lamp. Reaching behind her, he lifted her gently while he adjusted her pillows. She looked so frustrated, grouchy even, as she leaned back again, squeezing her eyes shut. They were puffy from lack of sleep and there was an annoyed frown gracing her face, a tiny wrinkle on her forehead. Danny smiled, reaching up to stroke her cheek. "Min?"

She had begun to drift again, the tension smoothing away from the lines of her face. Without opening her eyes she said, "Yeah, Danny?" Her voice was soft, dreamy on the edge of sleep. She let out a long sigh.

"Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night, and I can't get back to sleep, I get to thinking about… things."

She barely acknowledged that he'd spoken. "Hmmm." Her breathing was beginning to deepen as he continued to look down at her. He was losing her to slumber.

"Lately I've been thinking about something you used to say all the time, back when you were trying to wrangle me into a friendship with you, and I've come to realize, you're wrong."

She grunted, opening one eye to peak up at him. "Wrong? Are you really trying to argue with me right now?"

He chuckled, brushing an errant lock of hair across her forehead. He smiled, echoing her own words back at her. "Danny, best friend is a tier, not a person… Remember that?"

She frowned in confusion. She was so tired, and he was talking about something she'd said ages ago. She tried to clear the sleep from her mind. "Danny?"

"Well, you were wrong, for me anyway. Best friend isn't a tier, it's a person. It's you."

Both eyes popped open now, and she struggled to raise herself up on her elbows. "Stop staring, Danny, and help me sit up."

Slipping his arm behind her, he brought her to a comfortable sitting position, tucking more pillows behind her. She placed her hand on his forearm. "So?"

He suddenly felt nervous. Watching her drift off to sleep with an annoyed expression on her face lined with discomfort had given him that last little push he needed. He was overwhelmed with how right it all felt, laying there beside her. "I love you."

She smiled, the fatigue in her features falling away. Reaching for him, she laid her hand on his neck to pull him close. "Danny, you said it." There was wonder in her voice as her smile broadened. "It's still a tier for me, though." She lifted her hand up between them, indicating some imaginary level. "It goes. Acquaintances, then friends, then best friends." At each new level she raised her hand a couple inches. "Then family." Her eyes were sparkling as she raised her hand over her head. "Then… Daniel Castellano."

"Min, you're a little nuts." He said it jokingly, but really he was a bit in awe of what she'd said, filled with a sense that he didn't deserve such a placement. He kissed her on the top of her head.

She laughed, pulling him closer to her, lips meeting in a soft slow kiss, his thumb brushing the corner of her mouth. She reluctantly pulled away. "What made you decide to say it tonight, here?"

He'd been thinking about it since their argument, about why they really worked for each other, how he'd come to realize spending the rest of his life with her would be a wonderful thing. It had occurred to him, that even though he'd always been attracted to her, like a freaking moth to a flame, he'd never really seen the possibility of a relationship until they'd become real friends. "I was afraid, knowing that I love you, before I realized you were my best friend. Now, I get it, and even when we fight, it doesn't scare me, because I know my best friend won't give up on me. She's not going to just up and leave. She's like a dog with a bone, refusing to let me sink into bitterness or misplaced anger."

"Ugh, Danny, did you just compare me to a dog? Way to deflate the romance."

"Loyal. Intelligent. Loving. Great sense of smell. I don't see the problem."

She snorted. "Don't forget cute."

"Of course. Cute." He squeezed her shoulders, taking a deep breath. "As for why here? This is where I first said that I loved you."

She frowned, glancing around her room. "Uh, Danny, I realize that, mainly because it literally just happened." She raised an eyebrow in confusion. She reached up and grabbed his face, pulling him down to her level so she could look him in the eyes. "Are you awake, Danny?" She waved her free hand in front of him. "This isn't some strangely lucid sleep talking is it?"

He laughed, freeing himself from her grip to lean down and drop light kisses on the corners of her mouth. "I love you." He withdrew reluctantly. "Than night I came in here, and you reached for me because you'd had an awful dream. I whispered it to you after you'd fallen back asleep. I was so unsure of what you were feeling, and I was a bit cowardly."

Mindy giggled. "Oh my god, Danny. You said it while I was sleeping?" She covered her mouth, but couldn't stop the amused giggles from pouring out. "While I was sleeping?"

Her reaction was bizarre to Danny. He'd read somewhere that laughter was sometimes a result of panic, but she looked so happy, he couldn't really think that was the case here. "Min?"

She was laughing in earnest now. "Alex… Alex said… Oh my god, Danny… ahaha!"

He felt lost. "Alex?"

"She said you probably told me while I was sleeping, because you couldn't say it out loud yet. Oh god, and I'd just finished telling her how she didn't know you at all." Her amusement tapered off, and she began to catch her breath. She gazed up at him again. "Danny. We've wasted so much time. I'm sorry."

He smiled, relieved by her explanation. He gathered her into his arms, resting his chin on her crown. "I love you, Mindy. We can make up for lost time."

She settled into his embrace, marveling at how quickly her exhaustion overcame her once again. She yawned against him. Just as she was drifting off, she heard Danny utter one last thing. "I don't know how Alex could guess something like that. I certainly never said it to her, asleep or not."

She smiled against his skin, sleep finally overtaking her.


	14. Chapter 14

Mindy raised her eyebrow, giving Danny a strange look. "What is with you this evening? All I said was, maybe we could stay in. I mean, I'm huge and uncomfortable, and you hate going to fancy restaurants anyway." She was sitting on the couch, stretched out lazily. Today had been exhausting, trying to sort out her patients. She was dividing them up between Danny, Peter, and Jeremy so no one would have an overwhelming patient load. It had taken hours to get the other doctors up to date on the patients she was assigning them, and then to notify all of the patients themselves, all the while Danny complaining that she'd waited too long to take care of this.

"Min, you made me make this reservation _months_ ago, and now you don't want to go?" He stopped, turning to face her. He checked his tone, it wouldn't do to have her guess what he was up to. Yes, he had made this reservation months ago, and it was to a place she had hounded him about at the time, but that didn't really factor into his persistence. Any other night and he would have jumped at the chance to cancel a dinner reservation and spend a few hours sprawled across the couch relaxing with her.

Mindy frowned slightly, her gaze turning quizzical. "Danny? Are you okay? You look kind of… warm."

He felt it, the tell-tale sheen of perspiration across his forehead, that inescapable warmth when he was trying to pull one over on her. The collar at his neck suddenly felt too tight. Running his finger underneath it, he cleared his throat. "What.. warm? Uh, yeah, I think the thermostat is, um, not functioning… broken."

She narrowed her eyes. "Hmmm… broken, yeah, maybe."

Danny, feeling perilously close to being found out, changed his tack, moving to sit by her on the sofa. "Look, you've been wanting to go out to this place for a really long time, something about Mario Batali saying it's the one place he'd actually put on real shoes to get into, right? And, think about it. This may be the last time for a while that you'll get to go out to a nice restaurant and relax, enjoy the food…. the ambience." His eyebrows were raised slightly, an invitation to agreement. He hoped she would acquiesce. If she didn't, everything would be ruined.

She felt the corner of her mouth twitch. Danny was up to something, and she was pretty sure she knew what it was, her eyes were sparkling as she stared at him. "Hmm… Batali did say that, and you know how attached he is to those disgusting orange crocs. And I _do_ have a new dress I've been wanting to wear, and the window where I can actually wear it is narrowing."

Danny frowned, momentarily forgetting the necessity of buttering Mindy up. "You bought _more_ maternity clothes? Your due date is in three weeks. That doesn't make any sense." She frowned, a fire lighting behind her eyes that only his questioning the necessity of shopping could engender. She opened her mouth, but he cut her off. "But, uh, I guess three weeks is a long time… plenty of time, to wear… lots of outfits." He trailed off, hoping he'd successfully averted the inevitable argument he'd been foolish enough to walk into.

Mindy leaned forward, pulling him toward her to lay a sweet kiss on his lips. Pulling back, she smiled at him. "Exactly."

Danny grinned back, stifling an audible sigh of relief. "Ok, go get dressed. We have an hour before we have to be there." He stood up. "I have to take care of a few things before we leave. I'll be back in half an hour."

He started to walk toward the foyer. Mindy shifted, slipping her feet down into the floor. "Danny." He turned back, a curious expression on his face. She raised her arms up, reminiscent of a child wanting to be picked up. "A little help?"

He smiled, rushing back to her side to take her hands in his, hoisting her up. Upright, her belly bumping against him, she laughed. The sound sent a little thrill through him, and he couldn't fight the irresistible urge to smile. Sometimes his feelings for her crashed over him unexpectedly, catching the breath in his chest. He released the grip he had on her hands, quickly moving his own to either side of her face, drawing her in for an affectionate kiss.

Pulling back, he drew his thumb across her cheek, marveling once again at the softness beneath his touch. "You have an hour, use your time wisely."

She gripped his shoulders. "Oh, I always use my time wisely." She walked with him to the door, stopping as he retrieved his messenger bag.

Unable to resist, he dropped another peck on her cheek, giving her arm a gentle squeeze. "I love you." He couldn't imagine ever walking out of this place without saying it to her, couldn't imagine a day going by where the words didn't pass his lips multiple times. He had to make up for the all the times he'd stopped himself. "I'll be back soon."

* * *

Mindy stood in her closet, trailing her fingers across the rainbow array of clothing hanging around her. She knew exactly what dress she wanted to wear, but it didn't hurt to sift through the beautiful options, fingering the garments affectionately.

As she made her way to the one she'd been thinking about, her fingers stilled, a pinched look forming on her face. Her hand dropped to her abdomen. The slight cramping she felt was not alarming, in fact she'd been feeling it off and on all day. At first she'd simply thought they were Braxton Hicks contractions, nothing at all to worry about. Their severity was very low and they came at random and infrequent times.

This one was a little worse than the earlier ones, actually giving her pause, yet she still wasn't convinced it was anything to worry about. The feeling slowly ebbed, and Mindy glanced at the watch on her wrist. If, and that was a big if, these were actual contractions, she would need to time them. Mentally noting the position of the hands, she returned to the task at hand, a big smile gracing her features as she plucked the turquoise dress off its hanger.

Danny stood outside on the stoop, one hand pressing his cellphone to his ear, while the other attempted to block out the sound of the heavy wind. He yelled over the noise of the street. "Stevie, where are you?"

"Relax, Danny, I'm just here at the parking structure, you don't even need me to be there until _after_ you're done at the restaurant. What's with the third degree?"

"Stevie, listen, I feel the need to stress, once again, the importance of this, ok? Don't flake on me."

"Relaaaax, Danny boy, I've got you covered. When you called me, telling me that you were gonna pop the question to my ex-girlfriend, I told you, I'd be happy to help."

"She's not your ex, Stevie. Stop saying that."

Stevie ignored him, continuing, "We never would have worked anyway, cultural differences and whatnot."

Danny frowned in confusion. He'd never really thought about Mindy's cultural background. She didn't really bring up being Hindu all that often. "Um..."

"I mean, she's from Boston, of all places. Danny, you have to intervene early, make sure you don't have a future Red Sox fan on your hands. Gotta nip that in the bud."

Danny laughed. "Don't worry about it. Just don't forget. 8 o'clock. Sharp!"

"I won't be late. Ask her though, you don't want any latent Red Sox loyalty cropping up after you tie the knot, trust me."

* * *

Danny watched her. She wasn't aware of him standing in the doorway to her bedroom, too absorbed in selecting her accessories to really pay much attention to anything else. She picked up a large pendant necklace for the third time, frowning as she held it against her chest.

Danny was already dressed for dinner, a crisp white button up set against a black blazer, leaning against the door frame, hands in pockets. He'd even had time to shower and shave in the half hour he'd been back, and she was still here, contemplating her reflection.

He liked coming home when she was already here, the sound of pop music filtering through the apartment, a tangible warmth settling in his chest knowing she was waiting for him. She dropped the pendant back in the jewelry box, reaching for one so similar Danny could discern no difference. A smug smile spread across her face as she placed it around her neck, flipping her hair out as she turned toward him.

Her face, a mixture of surprise and pleasure, lit up when she saw him. She raised one eyebrow, sidling up close to him. "Better make it quick, my boyfriend'll be back any time now." Reaching up to touch his freshly shaved jaw, she feigned enlightenment. "Oh, Danny, is that you? I didn't recognize you without a denim shirt and leather jacket."

Danny let the comment slide, glancing at his watch. Seven o'clock. "You're still not ready?"

She whirled around, grabbing her clutch and turning back to Danny. "Finishing touch. I'm ready if you are."

He nodded, another wave of nerves hitting him unexpectedly. Was he ready? Yeah…Yes.

The restaurant was everything Mindy had hoped it would be when she'd pestered Danny into making a reservation so long ago. Low lighting, elegantly modern décor, some faint mellow music playing at a perfectly low volume so as not to impede conversation. The table in front of her was set with delicate silverware and beautifully cut crystal.

She was miserable. The fancy chair she was sitting in had a high back, and forced her completely upright, which at nine months pregnant was not an ideal position. She found herself slightly short of breath, a twinge in her lower back. And, on top of everything, she was starving. She'd skipped her normal after work snack in favor of getting ready to go out. She shifted uncomfortably. "How much longer do you think?"

Danny picked up the crystal water glass in front of sipping the cool water. "We just ordered five minutes ago, probably twenty? I don't really know, Min." He sounded apologetic, regretful even. Mindy frowned. Danny was acting very odd. He had been all night. Normally he would pretend to scold her for her impatience, perhaps even mention that she was the one so excited to try this place out. She noticed him fidgeting with the fork on the table.

The waiter walked by, clearly intent on getting to the next table over. Danny threw out his hand, waving it to get the young man's attention. "Can we get some… uh.. breadsticks or something over here?"

Pausing to plaster a fake smile on his face, the waiter turned. "Breadsticks? Sure, right away, no problem."

He glanced at his watch. 7:30 already. He hadn't expected to have to wait at the bar for so long. He'd made reservations, damn it! Didn't that mean anything? You had certain expectations of a fine dining establishment in regards to reservations. Waiting at the bar for a table to open up wasn't one of them. He could tell Mindy was uncomfortable. She kept shifting around in her chair, breathing slightly heavily. A strange look passed over her face, eyebrows knitting as she glanced down at her phone, checking the time. He felt like an idiot. His timing was awful.

The waiter returned, breadsticks in hand, pseudo-smile still pasted across his face. "Anything else?"

Danny shook his head, Mindy quickly taking of the verbal slack. "No, thank you." She turned back to Danny, grabbing a bread stick and tearing it apart. "Isn't it funny?"

Danny glanced up from his fidgeting hands. "What?" He picked up his glass again, sipping the liquid, hoping to ease his parched throat.

"The types of people you see in places like this." She took a bite of the bread, enjoying its soft yet chewy texture. She swallowed. "Look, there are dozens of couples here, fondly gazing into each other's eyes. Statistically speaking, there's probably at least one pair that will get engaged tonight." Her eyes sparkled, her lip curling in a satisfied smile.

Danny coughed, nearly choking on his water, spilling some down the front of his jacket.

She let out a short burst of laughter. So that's what this was. She'd suspected as much from hjs insistence that they go out, but she hadn't been sure until this very moment. She fought the urge to bounce up and down in her seat, to bowl him over with an endless flood of words. Instead, she turned her attention back to her breadstick. "These are really good. They have nothing on your mother's, but these'll do in a pinch."

Danny laughed, recalling the last dinner they'd had at his mom's. Someone had dragged out the old family photo albums. Baby pictures strewn across the coffee table had left him feeling embarrassed but also impatient. He wondered if his child would look like him, or if he would have soft raven hair like his mother, eyes constantly full of amusement.

"What are you thinking about? You have the funniest little half smile on your face right now."

Danny snapped out of his thoughts. "Are you a Red Sox fan?"

"Huh?"

"Baseball, Mindy. Are you a Red Sox fan?"

She paused, squinting slightly, thinking hard. "Well, my dad used to take me to games as a kid. You know, he's a total Bostonian through and through." She started on her second bread stick. "And by the way, Fenway Park is not the worst place in the world. They have awesome hotdogs."

"But are you a fan?"

"Well, I mean, I spent most of the quarters—"

"Innings."

"_Innings_… playing with the dolls I'd snuck in in under my coat, although once I almost caught a ball hit out-of-bounds."

"A foul ball."

"Yeah, that, but a big jerk of a man stood up in front of me and caught it."

"That would never happen at Yankee Stadium. Yankee's fans have a code of conduct. We don't scar children by stealing their foul balls."

Mindy laughed. "Danny, I'm not a Red Sox fan… or a Yankees fan… baseball is boring, and I can get pretty good hotdogs at Yankees Stadium too." She took a big gulp of her water, smacking her lips. "Also, those pinstripes are adorable." Her eyes lit up. "Oh, I bet I can get a cute little Yankees pinstripe onesie online." She reached for her phone excitedly.

Danny laughed, shifting back slightly to make room for the waiter who'd returned with their food. Mindy closed her eyes, savoring the aroma of the food in front of her. She excitedly grabbed her fork and began to twirl some pasta on it. Her hand halted, the fork inches away from her mouth. She felt the cramping again. She set the fork down, frowning. This was so quickly after the last time, she was really beginning to worry now.

"Is there something wrong with the food?" Concern laced Danny's voice. "Min?"

She shook her head, worry pulling at her face. Her eyes were focused on the tablecloth in front of her as she concentrated on what she was feeling. The cramping lasted longer this time, the feeling more intense than she'd experienced all day. Her eyes widened. "Danny, can we get this food to go?"

"You want to go home? Look, I know this isn't the best night out you've ever had, but I have a couple things planned for later. Can you try to make it a little longer?"

She shook her head emphatically. It unsettled Danny, mostly because her eyes were still wide, and yet she wasn't saying anything. "Mindy?"

"Sorry, Danny, but either I'm suddenly incontinent or my water just broke."

Danny's jaw dropped. "Your water…"

"And judging from the contractions I've been having all day, I'd say it's my water, and not an early loss of bladder control."

"Contractions! You didn't say anything. Why didn't you say anything?" Danny was exasperated. He felt his heart beating wildly. Fear and anticipation getting all jumbled up in his chest, he was very close to totally losing his cool. His cool? He felt the hysterical urge to laugh.

As if on cue, their waiter breezed by the table. "Everything ok? Do you need anything?"

Mindy glanced up at him. "To-go boxes please, we have to go, now."

Danny picked up his phone and dialed Stevie.


	15. Chapter 15

CH 15

Boxes in hand, they stood at the curb, waiting for Stevie to arrive. Danny wound his arm around Mindy, holding her close to him, as though close proximity could ensure smooth sailing. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Mindy bit her bottom lip. "Danny… I could tell you were planning…. something, and I didn't want to ruin it."

"You could tell?"

She laughed. "Uh, yeah, you were a nervous wreck, and you nearly aspirated on your water when I made the engagement comment earlier."

"Oh." He felt her tense beneath his touch and saw her brows furrow. "Min?"

Before she could answer an ivory white monstrosity pulled up the curb. It was a limo, a very tacky, very seventies limo. The passenger side window rolled down and Stevie called out. "Yo, Danny. Ready to go?"

Danny sputtered. "What the hell is this?" He reached forward to grab the door handle. "Never mind. We don't have time for that." He yanked the door open, groaning as he saw the bright purple velvet interior. "Seriously Stevie?"

"Stevie?" Mindy open mouthed. "What are you doing here? And in this… thing?"

"Hey, lady doctor, nice to see you."

Danny ushered Mindy into the vehicle, trying to ignore her giggles. Stevie turned back to answer her question. "My latest business venture. _Vintage Limos. _ I told Danny I'd cut him a deal for tonight." Stevie sent the two of them a cartoonish wink.

"Vintage?" Danny snorted as he slammed the door. "You could have mentioned that at some point."

Mindy laughed, running her fingers over the seat. "Oh, Danny. At least I don't have to worry about ruining the upholstery. It's clearly as bad as it can possibly get." Her laughter was cut off by a short gasp as she felt another contraction come on.

"Stevie, change of plans, we need to get to the hospital. Now."

Stevie pulled away from the curb, calling out behind him. "What? No Empire State Building?"

Mindy looked up at him, wide eyed. "The Empire State Building?" She took a long breath, the pain beginning to subside.

He felt heat rush to his ears. Hearing the words come from her mouth made it seem a little ridiculous. It wasn't something he'd ever seen himself doing, and he still thought it was kind of absurd, but it had been something she'd talked about so much. "Yeah."

She clutched at him. "And?"

He suddenly felt sheepish. "And… you know." He reached into his pocket, slowly pulling out the little box his mother had given him.

He opened it, displaying the delicate ring. Mindy swallowed, tears falling down her face. She reached forward, lightly resting her fingers on his wrist.

He took a deep breath. "So?"

"So?... Nuh-uh, nope, Danny, you have to say the words."

He sighed, closing his eyes in an attempt to clear away the inexplicable nervousness. "Marry me, Min. Spend the rest of your life with me. Be my family. Go to Yankees games with me, and drag me to bubbly romantic movies. Tell our son the story of when Mindy met Danny, leaving out all the bad parts, romanticizing all the good ones. Keep bringing vibrant color into my life. Help me make up for wasted time."

She nodded enthusiastically, blinded by her happy tears. She'd known he was going to ask, but she hadn't expected such beautiful sentiment. She wanted all of those things, desperately. Finally, finding her voice once again, she said, "Yes, please, yes."

He slipped the ring on her finger. "I'm sorry this wasn't the perfect proposal. I tried, Min, but—"

She cut him off. "It is perfect. Standing in line for hours at the Empire State Building, only to have some rude guy cut in front of you, or steal your thunder by proposing to his girlfriend first? That would have been so much less memorable than this." She gestured to the interior of the limo. "I mean, I think Fat Elvis once owned this thing." She laughed.

"Fat Elvis?"

"Yeah, you know, seventies Elvis, not the fifties-lip-curling-heart-throb Elvis, but seventies-crazy-outfit-wearing-peanut-butter-banana-sandwich-eating Elvis. This is totally his style." She grinned up at him.

Before Danny could reply, Stevie called out from the driver's seat. "Yo, Danny? She say yes? Because if she didn't, I know a guy that can get you a date with any kind of girl you want, a real matchmaker. Got a thing for Indian chicks? No problem, he'll find you a Mindy-look-alike in a jiffy."

Danny groaned. "She said yes, now shut the hell up. You've been really helpful, and I don't want to find a reason to bloody your damn nose."

Stevie laughed. "You ask her that other thing?"

Danny groaned yet again, feeling Mindy shift at his side. "What other thing, Danny?"

Danny opened his mouth but Stevie interrupted him. "You a Red Sox fan, Mindy? Being from Boston and all, I just assume they've got you brainwashed from birth and everything."

Mindy laughed, giving Danny a knowing glance. "Only the biggest. The Sox are like wicked awesome." She put on a thick campy Boston accent. "Nevah miss a game, got season tickets. Danny's gonna go to the season openah with me this year."

Stevie groaned. "Little D, what have you gotten yourself into?"

Danny laughed, leaning down to kiss Mindy on the temple. "Something wicked awesome."

* * *

The vehicle slowed to a stop in front of the drop off area. Danny swung the door open, jumping out quickly, pulling Mindy out behind him. He turned her toward the entrance, but she stopped in her tracks, dropping her hands to her abdomen. "Wait, just a…"

She trailed off, the pain intensifying, making her weak in the knees. She placed her hand on the car, sliding against it. She closed her eyes, forgetting all of the pain management techniques she drilled into her patient's heads. "Go, get, like a wheelchair, or something." Her words were punctuated by panting.

Danny stared at her, fear washing over him in a cold wave. Go get a chair? There wasn't a chance in hell that he'd let her out of his sight. He pulled her away from the car, quickly scooping her up, one arm beneath her knees the other at her back.

She instinctively hooked her arms around his neck, gazing up at him in confusion as he strode into the hospital. "Danny, careful now, don't want to throw your back out or anything… at your age and all…" She couldn't even focus enough to rib him about his age. Danny's worries multiplied. Was this normal? Maybe. He couldn't tell. It was as though his fears had pushed all of his medical knowledge to the back of his head. Suddenly he understood why doctor's needed to be so detached.

He hurried over to the desk, Mindy still clinging to his neck as he looked down at the nurse. "Get Dr. O'Reily. Dr. Lahiri is in labor, and it's progressing quickly." Without waiting for an answer he continued on into the hospital, headed straight for labor and delivery.

* * *

Mindy sat upright on the bed, finally clad in a hospital gown, various wires and tubes running here and there, one long elastic strip across her abdomen holding a fetal heart rate monitor in place. She looked over at Danny as he sat beside the hospital bed.

He took her hand in his, running his thumb across the back of it, skimming over the medical tape that held her IV in place. "Mindy, I'm sorry, it has to be him. Dr. O'Reily is out of town. There's no way she can be here."

Mindy frowned. She was irritated as hell. Uncomfortable here in her hospital bed, sweaty and undoubtedly looking like a mess, the last damn thing she wanted was Peter sticking his head between her legs. "No, it doesn't have to be him. It can literally be anybody else in the entire damn world."

He reached forward, dabbing at the sheen of perspiration glistening on her forehead. "Min, please, I'll be in there the whole time, right at your side, but he's the only available doctor, and the hospital won't allow it to just be me in there."

Danny squeezed her hand. "This decision isn't really in your hands anymore, hon. Your contractions are getting really close together, and your dilated almost ten centimeters."

Mindy took a deep breath, ready to release a barrage of choice words, relating her ability to tell that her contractions were getting closer together, when another terrible one overtook her. She clenched her teeth, trying to will the pain away, clutching at Danny's hand beside her. She gave up. Between pants she told Danny so. "Fine… but you have to talk to him… tell him….. tell him that I'll murder him… tear him limb from limb… if he ever references my lady parts…. ever."

He rose, bending down to kiss her on the forehead. "Ok."

Danny strode down the hall toward the on-call room. The nervousness he'd kept at bay while at Mindy's side began to resurface. His heart fluttered in his chest as adrenaline coursed through his veins. He placed his hand on the door, feeling the sweat slip against it as the door swung open.

Peter was sitting on one of the beds, flipping through the pages of Mindy's file. He glanced up at Danny. "Mama bear still terrorizing the third floor?"

Danny snapped, his nerves suddenly getting the better of him. He strode over to Peter, grabbing the lapels of his lab coat lifting him off the bed. He pushed him up against the wall. "Get it out of your system."

"What? Jeez Danny what the hell are you doing?" Peter stared at the irritated Italian pinning him against the wall. "You finally get her to agree?"

"Yes, and seriously Peter, get it out of your system right now, because if I hear ONE damn joke, about anything while we're in there, I will murder you. Mindy thinks I should tell you that she would be the one doing the murdering, but you have no idea, buddy." Danny released his grip on Peter's lapels, backing away slowly. "And that threat is indefinite. No future jokes either, got it?"

Peter straightened his lab coat, tossing an indignant look Danny's way. "As if I would ever make a joke about your baby mama's hooha." He scoffed. "I am a professional Danny. Now, let's go birth this beautiful mixed race baby so it can start competing with North West for cutest biracial tot of the twenty first century."

Danny didn't look relieved. The tension in his shoulders still had his back in knots and his temples ached from clenching and unclenching his jaw. Peter raised an eyebrow, tentatively approaching him. "Danny, really. I'm a good doctor, everything's going to be fine."

"I know, Peter. Logically, I get it. You're a good doctor. Mindy is healthy. Everything is as it should be." He sighed heavily. "It's just never felt like this. I've never been a delivery room with these thoughts flying through my head, every single damn thing that could go wrong." He was pacing now. "I mean, I've checked that fetal heart rate monitor a dozen times, checked Mindy's stats too. Everything's fine." He stopped to look at Peter imploringly. "Peter, I love her so much, and I'm terrified that something's going to happen."

Peter hooked an arm across Danny's shoulders, ushering him back down the hall toward Mindy's delivery room. "Come on, papa bear, I got this. You have nothing to worry about."

Danny nodded, swallowing as he wiped his palms on the side of his slacks.

* * *

The delivery didn't go smoothly, but it wasn't the disaster Danny had been dreading either. Mindy oscillated between bouts of uncontrollable tears and yelling obscenities at the people around her. Peter, true to his word, remained the consummate professional, not even responding to the vitriolic comments Mindy threw at him in the throes of labor. "GIVE ME PAIN MEDS YOU USELESS FRATBOY!"

"Mindy, you know we're too far gone for that. I know you can do this, we're almost there." Peter's reassuring words were surprisingly effective.

All the while Danny stayed at her side, his hand firmly clenched within hers, wiping the sweat from her brow and the tears from her cheeks. When she finally came to the point of pushing, there was real fear in her eyes. He felt so helpless against it, knowing that it would hurt and there was nothing he could do. He just wanted to lift her away from the bed and crush her to him, whisper reassuring words into her ear.

He didn't do that. He just kissed her on the temple, pulling back to take in her fearful expression. "Come on, Lahiri. This should be a cake walk, you know what to do."

The fear disappeared, replaced by anger as her brows furrowed and she bore down, crushing Danny's fingers beneath his own. Then, it was done, so quickly Danny thought maybe he was mistaken. All of this pain and waiting over as Peter lifted up the scrunch-faced little bundle of life.

Covered in blood and other bodily fluids, undoubtedly shocked by the suddenly cold air hitting his little body, Michael Castellano shrieked out a squalling scream. Danny felt the breath he'd been holding release, and the tears of joy welled in his eyes fell.

He felt Mindy's hand creep up his arm, settling on his bicep, squeezing gently. She didn't need to say anything. He quickly moved to Peter, cutting the cord and bundling child up in fresh receiving blankets. The baby felt impossibly delicate in his arms, and Danny was suddenly fearful of how defenseless little Michael was. A protective instinct welled up inside of him as he laid the child in Mindy's arms.

He smiled down at her. "It's a boy."

She sighed tiredly, not tearing her gaze away from her newly found love. "Told you so."

* * *

Hours later, as Mindy dozed in a much needed and medically aided sleep, Danny still sat at her side. He gazed down at her, feeling a strange giddiness fall over him as the weight of fear and worry lifted away. He was exhausted, but he didn't want to leave her, didn't want to stretch out on the uncomfortable loveseat in her hospital room. He wanted to be there when she woke up.

Still, a weariness pervaded him, and he pulled his chair up closer to her bed, leaning forward to rest his head against the mattress beside her. He felt her fingers thread through the hair at his nape, lightly pulling her nails across his scalp in a soothing manner. He peaked up at her smiling fondly down at him. "Lay beside me please."

Oh, he wanted to, so badly, but it just seemed impossible in the tiny hospital bed, and she had to be in pain. He didn't want to exacerbate that. "Min, just rest, I'll be right here."

She frowned, pouted actually, giving him those big eyes she reserved only for getting what she wanted. The affect was magnified by the obvious lines of exhaustion on her face. He sighed, giving into the inevitable. He stood up, tenderly shifting her to one side of the bed as he kicked off his shoes. Sliding in gently, he tried his best not to jar her, tucking his arm beneath her head, and resting his chin against her hair.

She sighed, echoing the sound coming from Danny's own chest. They were asleep in seconds.

* * *

The next few weeks passed in a flurry of visitors, Mindy's parents coming up from Boston and Danny's mother and brother stopping by regularly. Between entertaining so many people and attending to their child, Mindy and Danny rarely had any quiet time.

Finally, it got the best of Mindy. She strode into the living room where Danny was dozing with Michael against his chest, ready to declare a ban on visitors. She stopped at the sight, smiling involuntarily. This is what she wanted, the reason she wanted to put a stop to the constant stream of people in and out of their apartment. Sure, it was nice having Betsy stop by to take pictures and coo over the baby, but Morgan was driving her up the wall, asking her all sorts of inappropriate questions about breast feeding.

Peter had even stopped by a few times to 'take a gander at the miracle' he felt responsible for. Mindy still wasn't comfortable with the knowledge that he'd knelt between her legs and stared straight at her as she gave birth. He _had_ been totally professional ever since, but she wasn't holding out hope that it would last very long.

She tiptoed over to the couch to take a closer look at the two people she loved most in the world. Danny didn't think Michael looked all that much like himself. He said the baby had Mindy's determined little chin and big curious eyes. Mindy begged to differ. She saw Danny in the child more and more every day. In the shape of his ears, in the scrunched up frown he got on his face just before crying. Even in the dark little wisps of curls starting on his head, she saw Danny. And like this, right now, the two of them asleep together, she thought they looked very similar.

She reached down, lightly tracing her index finger along the back of his forearm. He opened his eyes immediately, confusion there only for a brief second. He slept very lightly with the child in his arms. He smiled up at her, eyebrows raised in inquiry.

She whispered her request. "Danny, can we just lock the doors and pretend we're not home. I can't handle any more visitors. I just want it to be the three of us, especially since you're going back to work next week." She walked around to sit beside him on the edge of the couch. "I mean, I love your family, and my own, and even the lunatics we work with, but I just want it to be us for a little while."

He nodded, unconsciously moving his hand in little circles against Michael's back. "No problem. We'll quarantine ourselves. I'll call everyone."

Michael started to fuss at his chest, and Mindy reached forward to pick up the child, rocking him in her arms. She kissed him on the cheek and then laughed as he instinctively turned his head in that direction, opening his little mouth in search of food.

Danny sat up, kissing Mindy on the cheek, the temple, the neck. "I love you."

She sighed. "I love you, too." She returned his kisses, the child in her arms squirming in impatience. "Now, go make those calls, while I feed this impatiently ravenous little squirt."

Danny laughed as he rose from the sofa. "Looks like he inherited your grouchiness when denied immediate relief from hunger."

She snorted. "Or your grouchiness when denied immediate access to my boobs."

"Touché."

* * *

For the first time in his life Danny found himself staring at the clock, desperately willing the hands to march around the face and rest at five o'clock. His first day back had crawled by, each patient seeming to take forever to get through. Finally, as the clock reached 4:55 his patience gave out and he grabbed his coat and messenger bag, darting into the elevator before anyone could say anything.

He was going home, and there was nothing that could hinder him in the least. Not getting roped into some stupid conversation with Peter about his latest date, or another possibly more inane conversation with Morgan about how his dogs were like his 'babies' too, none of that. He was going home, to his son, and to his fiancé. He would walk through the doors into his warm and vibrant apartment, and take Mindy in his arms, interrupting her singing along to whatever ridiculous pop song that was playing, and kiss her relentlessly. He would go find his son, hopefully awake and pick him up to marvel at how small he was, and how much room he took up in his heart.

He stopped halfway to the subway station, feeling his anticipation get the better of him. He threw his arm out, hailing a cab. He could take the subway tomorrow.

He couldn't believe this was his life.


	16. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

There were dozens of people packed into the living room. Streamers hung from the ceiling, small shiny metallic cutout letters spelled out 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY.' The cake on the table in front of them had been absolutely demolished. Danny cringed when he remembered the ridiculous price tag of the thing.

He sighed as he took another drink of punch from the cup in his hands. Mindy came up behind him, resting her head on his shoulder. He twisted to look at her. "Remind me again why we had to spend a fortune on a birthday party he won't even remember. He's been asleep for the past hour anyway."

Danny had picked up his exhausted child, carrying him into his comparatively quiet room to settle him down in the crib. His chest had tightened looking at the little boy, realizing how big he'd gotten in a year. Soon they'd be shopping for a toddler bed, spending hours trying to put it together. He'd definitely follow the instructions on that one.

She slipped her arms around him, linking her hands together at his abdomen, pulling herself flush again his back. "Pictures, Danny. There'll be lots of pictures. Plus, the party is for everyone, not just him." She kissed him in the hollow below his ear. "It's for me, having survived the first year of being a mother without any real mishaps. It's for our families, being so supportive, but also getting out of our hair when we asked. It's for you, because even though you've complained about it all day, you know you love it."

He felt his shoulders relax. It was true, he'd bitched about the party being far too extravagant for a one year old, but he'd enjoyed every minute of the planning, and Michael had been nothing but a bundle of giggles and smiles all day. That alone was enough for him to do it all over again.

Mindy pulled back, putting her hands on Danny's shoulders to reposition him in front of her. She had something she needed to tell him, and she'd had nervous butterflies in her stomach all day. It wasn't something they'd discussed, but she felt like he would be receptive to it. "Danny." She paused, gathering her thoughts. "I want a baby Ruth."

Danny knitted his brows in confusion. "Mindy, you just had three pieces of cake, how can you possibly even think about eating a candy bar right now?"

She shook her head, laughing. "No, Danny. I want a _baby Ruth._" She emphasized the words, as if that would be enough to clarify what she meant.

Danny gave her a sidelong glance, still not getting what she was saying. "Mindy, if you want a Baby Ruth, that's your prerogative. I'm sure you have some stashed in your 'secret' hiding place in the pantry."

She laughed again, this time a full on burst of giggles. "Oh, Danny. I want a _baby. _That's a girl. Named _Ruth._"

Danny's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Mindy?" She nodded enthusiastically as he engulfed her in a hug. He laughed. "I've actually been trying to think of a way to broach this subject for weeks now." He kissed her. "I want a little girl, a little Mindy running around harassing her older brother, wearing the loudest colors. I really do, but you have to understand, we could have another boy. Would you be ok with that?"

She sighed happily, looking up at him. "Of course, but Danny, you see, I had a dream."

He smirked. "A dream?" She nodded. "Well, I guess that settles it." He spun around, calling out to the room around him. "Party's over. Thanks for coming. Party favors by the door on your way out. Come again next year." He took Mindy by the hand and dragged her to their bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

She was gasping laughter, as he kissed her along the exposed skin at her neck. "Danny.. Danny… stop. You're being rude. All of those people out there." She squeaked as he slipped his hand beneath her skirt, and dropped his lips to her collar bone. She sighed. "Oh screw it, they can see themselves out."

**The End**

**_Thank you all so much for reading this whole story. I am so glad to have completed it. There were times when I wasn't sure that I would be able to think of things to write. I really want to thank Grace (grelca) for letting me bounce ideas off of her in the tmp chatroom. She's a doll. As always I really appreciate it when you all take the time to leave comments and ideas. TMP fans are the best. I look forward to hearing what you have to say about the finished product :D_**


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